Where There's Smoke
by The Girl Who Flys
Summary: A fire is deliberately started in the hospital's basement-home to the psych ward that nobody knew about. A Jane Doe is among those that are rescued from that ward. She is unknown to everyone except Mr. Gold, who immediately knows her to be his long lost True Love. The same True Love he was told died long ago. Season One AU
1. Chapter 1

Nothing. That's all her life was. Nothing. Day after day, night after night, nothing happened. Maybe there was some sort of weekly schedule they kept her by, but it was all a blur.

Wake up. Stare at the floor. Eat the flavorless broth they brought her for breakfast. Stare at the cracks in the wall. Eat the flavorless broth they brought her for lunch. Look out the window. Listen for voices. Wonder if that woman would come today. Eat the flavorless broth they brought her for dinner. Try to sleep.

Wake up.

Repeat.

There were very few variations in her routine. Sometimes she got to leave her cell for a shower. Nobody spoke to her and she had long ago given up trying to get them to.

She tried to think back to how she had gotten in here in the first place. This was a place for crazy people. Was she crazy?

She wished she could remember what had brought her here, but her memories were _only _of here. Not of any friends or family or boyfriends.

No childhood memories.

No memories of school.

She couldn't even remember her name.

She couldn't even think of a name to give herself. She was just there.

She did not dream often. When she did, it was always of a wheel; a wooden wheel that creaked and spun at an achingly slow pace. All the while it seemed to be urging one clear message: _forget. _

She blamed the spinning wheel for her lost memories. But at the same time, it brought her a sense of comfort. It was truly a love-hate relationship.

She thought of all this while staring at the floor of her cell as one hour blended into another. This day was just like all the others.

Then it wasn't.

Then she smelled the smoke.

* * *

Emma screeched the squad car to a halt in front of Storybrooke's hospital. She had gotten the call only two minutes before. There was a fire.

The worst part was it broke out in the basement. The basement that hardly anybody knew _existed _beneath the hospital. Apparently it was quite expansive. Expansive and secretive.

The fire truck pulled up behind her moments later and at the exact same time, patients and doctors alike were evacuating the hospital. This was the time where everyone would either come together or panic. As sheriff, she had to make sure as few people did the latter as she could.

"Sheriff!" Doctor Whale called out. He ran over to her, his expression one of disbelief and fear.

"Get as many patients out as you can," Emma implored. "There's no school today, you can use the gym-"

"Yes, yes, I know, we were going to do that," Whale cut her off. "We're just not sure where to take the patients from the basement."

"Why can't they go with the rest of the hospital?"

Whale blinked in surprise. "You _do _realize that the basement is our psych ward, right? I don't think any of them are inherently violent, but we need to err on the side of caution."

_Psych ward. _Those words rang in the sheriff's ears. The secretive basement was the _psych ward. _Emma thought of her options and ultimately pointed across the street. "The park. It's not big and if any of them wander off, they'll be easy to spot. Come on, I'll help you start bringing them over.

Dr. Whale grimaced. "They're not out of the basement, yet."

Emma's eyes widened. "What the hell do you mean they're not out of the basement, yet?! The basement is on _fire! _Why aren't they out here?!"

"I evacuated the patients I was with first! I don't work in the basement but if I had been there I would have. Look, we don't have time to argue right now, we just need to get everybody out."

Emma was still pissed as hell, but she had a job to do. "Just keep evacuating everyone. Get out as many oxygen tanks as you can, too. We're gonna need them. I need to keep people back."

A second, much smaller fire truck pulled up behind the first one. The men who hopped off were not trained professionals like the ones she had seen earlier. These were Storybrooke's volunteer firefighters. Emma recognized many of them from around town but the one that stuck out was David Nolan.

"You work with animals and fight fires?" Emma said, amused. "No wonder your wife snatched you up."

David shrugged. "I like to help. Can you tell us what's going on?"

"There's a fire in the basement-the psych ward. There's still people in there and they need to be evacuated to the park across the street," Emma explained.

"The door is disguised as an exit, but it has a pass code lock," Whale cut in. "Now that the fire alarms are going off, that doesn't matter and the door will open on its own. I have the keys to each of the rooms right here." He tossed the keys to David, who caught them with ease. "However if the heat gets too much, you may need to try and break the doors down."

"I've got just the thing, too!" A new voice said. Leroy, town drunk and curmudgeon, ran up to them, brandishing a pick axe. "This baby's pretty powerful and it's my favorite tool. _Don't _let anything happen to it. I'm trusting you, Nolan. Don't make me regret that."

David nodded. "You'll get it back."

* * *

She could hear voices outside her door yelling and screaming. Everyone was panicking. Including her.

She knew what was happening. There was a fire. It had to be a bad one, too. Some of the smoke began to seep under her door. It stung her eyes and made her cough. The cacophony of sirens both outside and in made her ears ring.

The voices were getting closer but the voices never spoke to her before. Why would they speak to her now? They would leave her to die.

No. No, they couldn't. She _had _to make them listen.

She began to pound on the door. _"Let me out!"_ she cried. "_Please, please! I'm in here! I'm locked in here! Please let me out! Let me out! Let me out!"_

The door grew hotter as her voice grew more and more hoarse. With a shriek of pain she tore away from the door and collapsed in the middle of the floor. She cradled her burnt hands in her lap.

This was it, then. This was her life. Nothing. Nothing and flame. This was the end.

The end was loud and terrifying. With smoke filling her lungs and sirens inside and out and yelling and shout and a loud banging noise.

_BANG! BANG! BANG!_

And then the world changed.

The door to her cell banged open and a new wave of heat hit her. Through her tears, she struggled to see.

Two large figures were standing in her doorway. One of them handed off a pickaxe to the other before stepping into her cell and kneeling down right in front of her.

It was a man. A man with a kind face. Even in the hell they were in right now, he smiled at her.

"Ready to get out of here?" he asked. Those were the first words spoken to her by another human being in as long as she could remember.

She wanted to say _Yes! _She wanted to say _Thank you! _She wanted to say _You saved me! _But there was too much to say, not enough time to say it, and she couldn't pick what she _should _say. So instead, she nodded.

Then she was being whisked away.

* * *

Even above the sirens, Emma could hear the familiar _tap, tap, tap _of the cane against the sidewalk. She had to stop herself from groaning. Of _course _he would show up. There he was, leisurely strolling up toward her as if there _wasn't _a fire going on. Surprisingly, he was accompanied by Dr. Hopper.

"The yellow tape not mean anything to you, Mr. Gold?" she asked. The man just smiled at her.

"So this is what all the fuss is about," Mr. Gold observed. "The whole town disappeared as I was making my rounds to collect rent. I ran in to Doctor Hopper here who filled me in on what was happening."

"And what are _you _doing here, Archie?" Emma asked.

"I thought I might be able to offer my services," Archie explained. "A fire can be a traumatic experience so I'm here to lend an ear to anybody that needs it."

"Actually, we could use your help with one group of patients. They're in the park across the street." The two men turned to see what she meant. They were all sitting quietly on the ground. Some were pulling out tufts of grass. Some reached out tentatively to touch the bark of a tree. But all of them looked _amazed _to be outside in the open air. Their pallid complexions made Emma believe that it had been a long while since they had seen the sun.

"They're from the basement," Emma explained. "The psych ward. Dr. Whale said none of them are violent but I'd like you to do a psych evaluation on all of them to make sure."

"Is that all of them?" Archie asked.

Emma could only shrug. "I don't know. I have no idea how many are down there. But the firefighters are still down there trying to evacuate some of them, so there could me more."

As if on cue, David came rushing out of the building, cradling someone in his arms. "Last one!" he called out. "Everybody's out of the basement!"

"Is she okay?" Emma asked as David rushed toward them.

"Her hands are burnt and she probably needs some oxygen," David guessed. "But she's conscious, at least."

"Take her to the others." She stepped away from them, effectively giving Gold his first good glimpse of the girl David had just rescued.

His heart stopped.

His legs felt numb and he had to lean against the sheriff's car for extra support.

His breathing became ragged and he struggled to keep his emotions in check.

In the blink of an eye, with the spark of a flame, his world was changed and turned upside down. She had been _dead. _This had been the only truth he'd known for years.

But here she was. Alive. His Belle. She was back.


	2. Chapter 2

So many emotions came over Gold at once he didn't know which one he should settle on. All of them were waging war for control.

There was joy. Joy at his Belle being alive! Alive! The woman he had once described as a brief flicker of light amidst the ocean of darkness that was his life was back again. Now his world was filled with the brilliant sunlight that was his Belle once again.

There was rage. Absolute _blinding _rage. Regina had strutted around his castle and lied directly to his face. She had _mocked _him with her supposed death and he had been to overcome with shock, disbelief, and grief to see through the lie. If he had magic right now, Regina would be a slug in the blink of an eye.

There was guilt. _How _could he have believed Regina? He should not have let the grief overcome him so easily. He should have torn the world apart to find her. He should have gone to her father to see if the story was true. The only reason he _hadn't _gone to her father was because he knew that he wouldn't be able to control his temper. He couldn't disappoint Belle. Not when she'd finally found her peace.

And finally there was determination. He would not lose Belle. Not a second time. The first time had been nearly too painful to bear. A second time would surely do him in for good. As far as he was concerned, Belle was now under his protection. Nobody would change that. Especially not Regina.

Oh, Regina. She would certainly pay a hefty price for _this_.

"Mr. Gold? Gold?" Gold snapped out of his thoughts. The cricket turned psychologist was looking concerned. "Are you alright?"

Gold nodded. "The-the smoke…it's starting to get to me."

Archie nodded empathetically. "Well, we should probably get away from it then." Gold nodded in agreement and followed Archie across the street. He could see Belle better from here. She had an oxygen mask on her face and an old blanket across her shoulders. Still, she shivered from the cold.

"I should be getting them to my office," Archie said. "Can't leave them out here in the cold. Good day, Mr. Gold."

"Not just yet, Dr. Hopper," Gold said warningly.

Archie blanched. "Of course, the rent! I nearly forgot in all the chaos. You can come with me to my office now or I'll personally drop it off at your shop tonight."

Gold sighed. Why was it _always _about the rent with these people? "Actually, Dr. Hopper, for the first time _ever_, I'm going to give you a free pass. I'll get it from you tomorrow. I need you to do something else for me." Gold nodded his head toward the group of psych ward patients. There were only four of them. Four people that were doomed to be locked away by Regina.

"Where will all of them go?" he asked.

"W-well, I'm not sure, Mr. Gold," Archie answered honestly. "I suppose that's up to the hospital staff." He blanched again at the look Gold was giving him. "B-but in my _personal_ opinion…they might make use of a meeting room in the town hall to keep them separate from the rest of the patients or maybe the nuns at the convent will offer them shelter or maybe they have family that can take them in."

"And what if one of them _doesn't _have someone?" Gold challenged. "Hm? What then?"

"I-I-I don't know," Archie stammered.

Gold sighed impatiently and nodded toward the patients again. "You see that woman? Curly brown hair? Blue eyes? The woman David Nolan rescued last?"

Archie nodded. "Yes…"

"Talk with her first. I'm willing to bet she's just as sane as you or I."

Archie's expression was an odd combination of surprised and confused. "Mr. Gold, do you know her?"

Gold said nothing for a few moments. Then he looked Archie in the eye and gave a small, curt nod. "I have business to attend to but you are to call me as soon as you are done. She can stay with me. I have plenty of guest bedrooms available for her to choose from. Also," he stepped closer and lowered his voice, "if the mayor tries to sell you some scare story about that woman, you be sure to tell her that it's all taken care of and Mr. Gold is watching out for her. _Exactly _those words. You understand?"

Archie nodded quickly. "Good," Gold said. "I'll be expecting that call, Doctor Hopper!" he called out behind him as he limped away.

* * *

The woman named Astrid was very nice to her. She came with the rest of the group and said nice things to her and smiled. She still couldn't get over people finally _talking _to her. There was so much she wanted to say she could hardly choose her words.

"That's just Pongo," Astrid assured her when the Dalmatian ran over to meet her. "That's just how he says hello."

"H-hello," she said shakily as Pongo sniffed at her. The bespectacled man was nice enough to drag Pongo away from her. Astrid led her to the couch and she slowly sat down on it. She had no idea how hard her cot in her cell had been until she sat down on this couch.

"Could I see your hands?" Astrid asked. She hesitated for just a moment before holding them out to Astrid. Astrid took them gently and examined them. "I trained as a nurse for a little while before changing professions," Astrid said conversationally. "The good news is the burns aren't bad and will probably heal within the week if taken care of properly."

"And the bad news?" She asked.

Astrid shook her head. "No bad news. Your hands will probably hurt for a little while but that's to be expected. I'll patch you up and then you and Dr. Hopper can have a nice long talk. Now, this may hurt a little," Astrid warned. Slowly and gently, she began to apply an ointment to her palms. Astrid was right. It _did _hurt. Anything touching the burnt skin made it burn even more. But she trusted Astrid to help her feel better, so she endured.

After the ointment had been applied Astrid put some gauze on her hand and then began winding bandages around it. It was a nice feeling: being taken care of.

Astrid pulled out some odd blue plastic thing and pressed it into her hands. It was alarmingly cool to the touch. "That ice pack should help for a while."

"Thank you," she managed to say. She think she might have managed a small smile, too.

Astrid said goodbye to Doctor Hopper and left them alone. She could hardly concentrate on the man in the room with her. After so long in her cell she was amazed by the sheer number of _things _that were in this room.

"My friend Ruby should be here soon with food for everyone," Archie began. "I thought until then that we could talk. I don't have your file here with me yet so why don't you start with your name? I don't think I've heard you say it."

She shook her head. "I…I don't remember what my name is supposed to be. I'm sorry I know that sounds crazy-"

"I don't use that word," Archie interrupted. "First and foremost, understand this: you're not crazy. I've heard of stranger things in my practice than someone forgetting their name." That made her feel a little better. "What do you remember?"

She shrugged. "Every day of life in my cell."

Archie raised his eyebrows. "Nothing else?" he asked. She shook her head. Archie made a note on his paper. "You called your room a cell. That's an interesting word choice."

"Well…it's gray," she explained. "And the cot isn't very comfortable. The floor is cold and hard. There are bars on the window."

Archie noted all of this. "Why don't you tell me what a typical day is like for you?"

"Well…I wake up and I have some sort of broth for breakfast. Sometimes I walk around my cell. Sometimes I look out the window. Sometimes there's nothing to do besides look at the floor, really. I have broth for lunch and dinner. And then I sleep. Sometimes I take showers, but I'm not sure how often. I know I had one yesterday."

"Did you ever have any interactions with the other patients?" Archie asked. She shook her head. "None at all."

"Today is the most I've spoken to _anyone _in as long as I can remember," she confessed. "The only people I ever see are the doctors and nurses. And then there's the woman."

"Woman? What woman?"

She really hoped this woman was real and Archie wouldn't think it reason enough to deem her crazy-even if he didn't use that word.

"There's a woman that visits me sometimes," she explained. She never comes inside she just opens up the peephole and looks at me and smiles. Sometimes she even laughs…I think she _likes _that I'm in there."

"Interesting." And Doctor Hopper made more notes.

* * *

Mary Margaret had no doubt just had the strangest phone call of her life. From Mr. _Gold _no less. She and Emma had already paid the rent so _that _couldn't be it. All he had said was to meet him outside the school before hanging up.

He was pacing back and forth in front of the front doors, waiting for her. He had apparently just done shopping if the plastic bag was anything to go by. His pacing stopped when she emerged from the building.

"Miss Blanchard," he said. "I apologize for being so vague over the phone. I would have come in but Moe French is inside and…well, people wouldn't take too kindly to me being so near him right now."

"It's alright," she assured him. "There's more than enough volunteers. They won't miss me for a few minutes. What can I do for you, Mr. Gold?"

"How would you like to earn a little extra money?" Well, that wasn't what she had been expecting.

"I'm sorry?" she said slowly.

Gold sighed impatiently. "I have a guest staying at my house," he explained. "She's from the hospital and she had nowhere else to stay."

Mary Margaret smiled widely. "That's so nice of you!"

"Miss Blanchard, please, I'm not finished." Gold waited a few moments to be sure he wouldn't be interrupted again before continuing. "She's been in the hospital for a while. I doubt she's had that much human interaction and all she has to wear right now is her hospital gown. So I need you to come over to my house tomorrow morning and stay with her for a few hours. I have an appointment to keep and I'm going to pick up a few clothes for her to wear. I'd bring her into town with me but I'd rather not have people stare."

"Of course not! That would be terrible," Mary Margaret agreed.

"So you'll do it?" Gold asked.

"On _one _condition," Mary Margaret countered. "Let me send along one of my friends to help you with the shopping."

Gold's expression looked like a cross between amused and offended. "Why on _earth _do you think I need help?" he said.

"Mr. Gold, don't get me wrong, you do dress _very _nicely, but as a man you tend to lack…feminine instinct." Oh, dear. If looks could kill, she'd be in the morgue by now. "There will probably be things you didn't even think about buying that your guest will need later."

"But I've already got her a toothbrush and a comb," Gold protested. He practically waved the plastic bag in her face.

"That's exactly what I'm talking about," Mary Margaret said. "She'll need more than that."

Gold rolled his eyes. "Fine. Tell your friend to meet me in Modern Fashions at eleven in the morning tomorrow. Meanwhile, I expect to see you at my house at nine."

Mary Margaret nodded. "I can do that," she promised.

Gold nodded. "Good," he grunted before turning and beginning to limp away.

"Mr. Gold?" Mary Margaret called out. "You're welcome, by the way."

The man nodded. "Yes, thank you, Miss Blanchard," he said and began to walk back to his car. He was just unlocking the doors when his phone rang.

The Caller ID flashed _Dr. Hopper_. Gold grinned. It was time to see Belle again.


	3. Chapter 3

She had honestly not even _thought _about what would happen to her now that she was out of her cell. Her life was that room and she couldn't imagine anything outside of it. Archie was finishing up talking with her when there was a knock on his office door.

"Excuse me," he apologized, crossing the room. Archie opened the door to reveal a well dressed man with shoulder length hair and a cane standing on the other side. "Mr. Gold, come on in." Mr. Gold obliged and limped into the room.

When Mr. Gold's eyes fell on her he became still and rigid. She noticed that his knuckles were white from gripping his cane so hard. He seemed, overall, very nervous to be near her but his expression seemed…hopeful? Sad? She didn't know what to think of him.

"This is Mr. Gold," Archie introduced. "Mr. Gold, perhaps you could enlighten us as to her name? She doesn't remember it and I don't have her file yet."

Mr. Gold _knew _her? She waited with bated breath. If Mr. Gold knew her, then she'd finally have a name.

Instead Mr. Gold gave her a smile and said "I suppose the two of us will just have to start working on her memory."

She couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. She had gone so long without an identity to give herself. If she didn't find out her name or get a new one soon, she was going to get sick of people pointing at her and going _Hey, you! _

"Mr. Gold has offered to let you stay as a guest in his home," Archie said, breaking her away from her thoughts. "If you don't want to that's perfectly fine. I'm sure that the hospital can make other arrangements."

She shook her head quickly. She wasn't going back to the hospital. The fire had been her escape and she didn't plan to go back anytime soon. "You would let me in your home?" she said tentatively.

Mr. Gold smiled. "Of course, dearie," he agreed.

She cocked her head to the side and studied the man before her. His appearance was immaculate. Not a single piece of lint was on his very expensive looking suit. The handkerchief tucked into the breast pocket was color coordinated with his shirt and tie and his shoes shone so brightly she wouldn't doubt if they had just been polished that morning. But looks weren't everything. She considered herself to be a good judge of character.

Everyone she had ever seen in the psych ward-which was only a handful of nurses and doctors and the woman through the door-smirked contemptuously at her and their eyes were always cold and calculating. The people she had seen today were nothing like that.

The man who had rescued her-David, she remembered him telling her-brought her to safety and she trusted him to get her out of there because he was the first person who actually spoke to her. She had been sure she had been left to die by all the nurses because they probably thought she didn't matter. But in that moment, for the first time she could remember, she felt like she did.

Archie spoke to her with a soft voice and kind words. Nothing she said was dismissed-except maybe for the crazy comment-and everything she said was important. He was actually helping her solve the mystery that _was _her. They hadn't gotten very far yet, but today was a start.

Mr. Gold's expression told her much. He was hopeful and happy and sad all at once. He also looked a little bit scared. But of what? It couldn't possibly be her, could it? Even if she had spent countless hours locked away in the psych ward-which would make anyone run away scared-she felt she was not someone to be frightened of. Why would Mr. Gold be afraid of her?

She was hesitant with her next question. "You would do that? For me?"

"I have plenty of room. It's really no trouble at all." His expression drifted a little more toward hopeful.

"Did…um…did we…_know _each other?" she asked carefully.

Mr. Gold sighed and his eyes flickered over to Archie, like he didn't want him to be witness to this. But this was Dr. Hopper's domain and all he did was sit up a little straighter. He wasn't leaving his patient and for that she was glad.

"Yes, we do. Or rather, we _did_," he corrected. Ah. Her memories. He remembered but she didn't. Gold pressed his lips together tightly and he drummed his fingers along the handle of his cane as he carefully thought over his next words. "I was led to believe that you were no longer alive," he confessed. She wasn't sure whose eyebrows shot up farther: hers or Archie's. That would certainly explain her lack of visitors. "Someone has deceived all of us, it seems."

Her thoughts immediately went to the woman who came to look in at her.

"All I'm offering is a place for you to stay; nothing more."

"For how long?"

"As long as you'd like."

"I wouldn't have to go back?"

"Never," Mr. Gold vowed. And he said it so seriously and with such conviction she instantly believed him and knew, once and for all, that she could trust him.

She gave him a small smile. "I'll go with you," she decided. "Are we leaving now?"

"Just a moment," Archie said. "I would like to speak to Mr. Gold-"

"You have my number," Mr. Gold interrupted.

Archie nodded. "Yes, I do," he agreed. "I'd like to do a few sessions with her to see how she's adjusting. She hasn't had much human interaction in a very long time. Her reemergence into society should be gradual. If she's in an environment where she feels safe-"

"She will be," Mr. Gold interrupted again.

"Yes, I know, I was saying that if she's in an environment where she feels safe, then people should be brought to her first. Not too many at once, she shouldn't be overwhelmed."

"Shouldn't be too much trouble," Mr. Gold allowed. "Could the next session be at my home? I'm willing to pay extra."

Archie waved off the offer of extra money. "It's really no trouble at all, Mr. Gold. If you'll allow me a moment to get my appointment book we can figure out a time-"

"Call me with the details tomorrow." Mr. Gold turned to her. "If you're ready, we can leave now."

It occurred to her in that moment that this man here was the true key to her freedom. She was out of that cell but if she wished to stay out, then she should take up his offer of shelter and go with him. She never would've thought her knight in shining armor would show up in an expensive suit.

She nodded. "I will go with you," she decided.

Finally Mr. Gold no longer seemed scared. He smiled at her and she found the almost innocent, childlike quality rather endearing. She had made the right decision, she was sure.

He limped over to her and held out a hand. "Shall we?" She let him help her off the couch and she followed him. She followed him out of the office, past the nurses that kept her locked away, and out into the open air.

The sun had already set. That was the one thing she didn't like about winter: the sun had always set too soon and left her cell in darkness. But out here there were streetlights and fresh air. And if she looked up, she could see the stars instead of her cracked ceiling. She shivered in the cold night air.

"Let's get you in the car, dearie," Mr. Gold said and she finally looked away from the stars. "I'd hate for you to get hypothermia on your first night of freedom."

She laughed unexpectedly at his joke and she realized as he held open the car door for her that that was the first time she had laughed for as long as she could remember.

* * *

After the long day she had just had, Emma felt like she could cry with relief when she opened the door to the loft and smelled food cooking.

"Just in time!" Mary Margaret said cheerily. Emma marveled at her roommate's ability to be so damn happy after the nightmare that was today. "I made chicken. I'll make you a plate."

"Thanks," Emma sighed. She collapsed into a chair at the kitchen table and began to tug off her boots. "Today has been too long. Regina was practically breathing down my neck the whole day."

"Well she is the mayor," Mary Margaret allowed.

"Yeah and she was making my day that much more stressful just by being there!" Emma ran a hand through her hair. "Well the fire wasn't too bad and the patients can be moved back in. The families of the patients of the psych ward are taking them in for now until a better place can be found."

"The psych ward?" Mary Margaret was just as surprised as Emma had been.

"Today was the first I've heard about it. And it was disguised as an exit. Why would you disguise the entrance? Wouldn't it be easier just to put 'Restricted Access?"

Mary Margaret put a plate down in front of Emma. "I'm sure they had their reasons."

"Doesn't mean I have to like it. Especially after what the firefighters and I found when we went investigating down there."

Mary Margaret's interest was piqued. "What did you find?"

"You mean besides the fact that the patients down there were in rooms like prison cells and that one of the rooms that had someone in it didn't even _have _a nameplate? We found evidence of arson." Emma stabbed a piece of her chicken with her fork. "It's not confirmed yet, but it's looking like this fire was no accident."

* * *

"It's pink," she observed. She would not have pegged the man leading her up to the front door to live in a pink house. It was just so strange.

"It came that way. I've never really gotten around to painting it a different color," he explained apologetically.

She just smiled as he twisted the keys in the lock. "I like it." She liked the inside, too, she decided. It was large and open, not small and closed in. There were so many rooms. Was she allowed in all of these rooms? Or was she just supposed to stay in whatever room he provided for her? It's not like it would be any different from her cell. Except maybe it would be more comfortable. And her window probably wouldn't have bars.

"The bedrooms are right this way," he said, leading her upstairs. "That one's mine." He pointed to a door at the top of the stairs. "I turned one of the bedrooms into an office so you have two more to choose from."

_Two _rooms. She couldn't quite get over that. Two different rooms and she could choose which one she wanted.

She decided on the first one immediately. It was the bed that was the deciding factor. It was so much bigger than her tiny little cot. And there were so many pillows. She picked one up and hugged it close to her, burying her face in it. It felt so soft, like nothing she had felt before in her life. She dropped the pillow on the bed again and crossed the room to the windows. _Windows. _More than one and they were covered over with curtains instead of bars.

Yes, she had made the right decision.

"Do you like it?" Mr. Gold asked hesitantly. He had that wary expression again as if he was scared she would hate it. She nodded in answer and he looked relieved and happy again. "If you'd like, you can wash up while I make dinner."

"You can cook?" she blurted out before she could stop herself.

He chuckled. "You seem surprised."

"You seem like a bachelor," she pointed out.

"True, very true. However, I found learning to cook a necessary evil despite my bachelor status. It makes it hard to do business when you're half-starved." He limped across the hall and opened another door. Even the _bathroom _was large. What was a bachelor doing in a house like this all by himself? "There's soap and shampoo underneath the sink. And I got you a toothbrush and a comb earlier." He put the plastic bag he had been carrying on the counter next to the sink. "I'll go get you a towel."

"I don't have anything to wear," she realized. "This is it." She gestured to what she was wearing.

Mr. Gold looked her up and down. "I'll be right back," he promised, leaving her alone with her thoughts. This day was so strange. She had gone from invisible to unimportant to the guest of honor in a strange man's house. And, if she were understanding this correctly, she would be able to shower _alone_. Up until this point, a shower had been someone shoving her under cold water, giving her a quick scrub, and then pulling her out again.

"What happened to your hands?" She jumped a little. She hadn't heard Mr. Gold return. He stood in the doorway carrying her towel and some clothes.

"They got burnt," she explained. It didn't hurt as much anymore. She had nearly forgotten about the bandages.

"Well here," he said, putting down the items. "We don't want them getting wet." Slowly, carefully, he helped unwrap them, exposing the red flesh to the elements again. "I'll help you rewrap them later, if you'd like."

She nodded. "I would like that."

Mr. Gold stepped past her to the tub and twisted the knobs. "This one is cold water, this one is hot and if you just pull this here…" Water started coming from the shower head instead of the faucet. "I'll be downstairs. Just yell if you need anything."

"Mr. Gold?" she said. He stopped and turned around to again to face her. "Thank you…for all this."

He smiled at her again. "You are most welcome, dearie." And he shut the door behind him.

* * *

The door to Dr. Hopper's office flew open, making the patient on the couch flinch violently. Archie remained professional, despite the figure standing before him.

"Mayor Mills, this is highly inappropriate," he protested.

Regina Mills did not look happy whatsoever, especially not now. "I don't care," she sneered. She paced angrily back and forth, hands on her hips. Today had not been a good day for her. The situation had spiraled dangerously out of control and she was determined to smooth everything over and return everything back to normal.

"We're almost done. If you could just wait a few minutes-"

"I don't want to wait a few minutes," Regina snapped. "I'm looking for someone: one of the patients from the fire today. I was told that a…_certain group _was brought to you for evaluation and she was among them. She's dangerous and a menace to society at large. Delusional, unresponsive, prone to violent outbursts. To put it simply: she needs to be locked away."

"Could you describe her? Physically, I mean," Archie clarified.

Regina huffed, annoyed. "A woman with long, curly brown hair, blue eyes, pale, short, somewhere between her late twenties and early thirties. Ring any bells?"

Archie nodded. "Yes. I did see her earlier today and I must say she is nothing like you described."

Regina glared at him. "I didn't ask for your personal opinion of her! I just want to know where she is!"

"She's being taken care of," Archie assured her. "Mr. Gold is watching out for her."

Regina's mouth opened and closed in shock for a few moments. Honestly, Archie kind of wanted a video camera to record it all. He had never seen the mayor so dumbfounded before. Maybe it was unprofessional of him to think so, but it was rather amusing.

Finally, saying nothing more, Regina stormed from the office and Archie was left wondering exactly _what _was going on.

* * *

She was very grateful for the drawstring on these pants that Mr. Gold had given her. Still, they were a little big and she kept a hold on them just in case they decided to fall down. She had no idea where anything was in this house so she just decided to follow the smells instead.

Mr. Gold was just setting down some plates on the table when she made her way into the kitchen. He had shed his jacket and rolled up his sleeves. She supposed this would be the closest she would see him to looking casual. She cleared her throat to let him know she was there.

"You look good," he commented. She was sure he was just saying that to be nice. Her hair had taken forever to comb through and get the knots out. Instead she sat down at the table and told him "I'd forgotten what a warm shower felt like."

He frowned at this comment. "I would have done something to get you out if I even suspected you were in that place," he muttered. "Help yourself to as much food as you'd like. I'll get us some water."

"You don't think I belonged in there?" she asked. She knew what the answer would be but she needed assurance from more than one person that she wasn't crazy. Hearing it from a professional was one thing, hearing it from someone who was probably her friend was another.

"Not at all, dearie." He set down a glass of water in front of her before limping off to get his own.

"You said we knew each other. So what was my name? I've tried very hard to remember it and I've tried very hard to think of a name for myself, but nothing seems to fit." She frowned at this. "Maybe it's better I forgot. Maybe I had a really terrible name like Margie or _Verna_." She shuddered at the thought.

"Well if you want a new name, now would be the perfect opportunity to come up with a new one." Mr. Gold sat down across from her and began to put food on his plate. "This is a chance for you to start all over again."

"Why don't you come up with a name for me?" she suggested. "I'm sure whatever you come up with would be a better suggestion than what I can think of."

He said nothing for a while. She had thought he had almost forgotten about it. She was halfway done with her dinner before he spoke again.

"Belle," he said. "How would you like your name to be Belle? It suits you, I think."

_Belle_. She was right. He _could _come up with better names than she could. She nodded. "I like it."

* * *

**Oh my god, that last episode. Poor Rumple can NEVER catch a break! Let's take a count on how many times he's lost Belle: he kicked her out, he thought she died, he got her back only for her to lose her memories, and they were going to work on her memories only for her to turn into Lacey. Four times. Plus every time they have a date, it gets interrupted. This guy needs a happy ending.**

**Thank you for all your reviews so far!**


	4. Chapter 4

Ruby browsed through the racks of clothes idly as she waited for her mystery shopper to show up. It was her day off and she most likely would have been doing some shopping anyway, so this really didn't deviate too far from her original plans. She was still left in the dark as to who she would be shopping with today so she couldn't start picking things out until they showed up.

Mary Margaret had called her last night asking for this favor. "I'm busy tomorrow," she explained apologetically. "Otherwise I would go myself. Trust me, they need a _lot _of help shopping. They don't know how to shop for a girl."

So that left Ruby with two possibilities. The first, and rather unlikely, option was that this was some poor girl with little to no fashion sense in desperate need of a makeover. She'd be more than happy to help if that was the case. However she wasn't able to think of any female residents of this tiny town of the top her head that were in need of her expertise so it couldn't be that.

Option number two meant it was a man she was helping today and that opened up a whole treasure trove of possibilities. It could be David. Mary Margaret was as subtle as a pink elephant about that little dance going on between them. She was lucky that most of the residents of Storybrooke were oblivious compared to her. David Nolan was a handsome man but all he wore was flannel. No man that wore flannel could know how to buy things for a woman. Then again, he _was _married so he must know _something_ to have gotten a girl to say "I do!"

Maybe it was Archie. Ruby had been dying to get him out of those plaid blazers and those god-awful sweater vests (not in that way!) While he was here shopping for a woman, whoever she may be, maybe she could get him to get a few new things for himself.

The bell above the door rang and Ruby looked up.

Her jaw dropped and the newcomer to the shop didn't look all too happy either.

It was Mr. Gold.

Somebody shoot her now.

"Oh, no!" she exclaimed at the same time Mr. Gold said "This better be Miss Blanchard's idea of a joke."

"No, I'm pretty sure she was serious." And Ruby was pretty sure she was going to throttle Mary Margaret for not telling her. Although if she had told her that her mystery shopper today would be Mr. Gold, Ruby would have flat out refused. This was _her _day off, damn it! Why should someone as awful as him ruin it?

"Why would she send _you_?" Mr. Gold demanded.

Ruby crossed her arms. "Well she could have sent Ashley but that wouldn't have gone over well."

"Well I'm sorry to have inconvenienced you in any way but I think I'd rather do this on my own. I'd rather _not _have my guest have a duplication of your wardrobe." Too late, he had her intrigued. She wasn't leaving until she had answers.

"Guest?" she echoed. Gold sighed heavily, as if talking to her was a very arduous undertaking.

"Yes, a guest. I have a young woman staying at my house and I'm afraid that she doesn't have much to wear." Ruby felt her eyebrows shoot up so far, she was sure they disappeared into her hairline. She also felt herself turn a little bit green. Oh, God. That was _way _too much info!

Gold, to his credit, caught on quickly. "Get your mind out of the gutter!" he hissed, but Ruby swore she saw him turn a little red. "She's from the hospital. She's been in there for a while and doesn't have anything to wear besides those dreadful gowns."

"Why is she staying with you?" Ruby didn't mean to be rude. She just had a hard time picturing the whole thing.

"I offered, she accepted," he explained. Nope, it was still weird. Someone _willingly _went with him. Maybe she had amnesia. "Now if you're going to continue to pry, you can leave right now. Despite what Mary Margaret thinks, I am perfectly capable of doing this on my own."

Ruby snorted. "No, you're not. You're a bachelor, Mr. Gold. You don't know the first thing about women. Women are a completely different species from what you're used to dealing with. You probably don't even have half the things a woman needs in your house."

"I bought her a toothbrush and a comb," he protested but Ruby could tell that he was realizing that was a weak argument.

"What about other things? Like shampoo and conditioner? Body wash?"

"I keep those in the house," he said. "Except for the body wash. I just use bars of soap."

Ruby shook her head. "Okay, I'm staying. You are obviously in desperate need of my help. Now, tell me about this girl. She's not here so we'll have to guess what may or may not fit her as best as she can unless she told you her sizes?" She looked hopefully at Gold, who just shook his head. "Okay, let's do a comparison. Is she taller or shorter than me?"

"Shorter," he answered immediately. "She's probably half a foot shorter than me."

"Is she a stick like me, too?"

Gold shook his head. "No, she's not. She looks light as a feather but she's…um…"

"She's got some curves?" Ruby finished for him. He was turning a little red again. This afternoon could be _fun_. "Well, let's start looking. Is there a budget I should keep in mind?" All Gold did was give her a look. So there _wasn't _a budget. She grinned. "Alrighty, then! Be prepared to make a dent in your credit card, Mr. Gold!"

Ruby started pulling some jeans in various sizes off the racks. "She can try the clothes on later and whatever doesn't fit her, she can return!" Ruby explained.

"I don't want her dressed like you," Gold warned. Ruby rolled her eyes.

"Relax, you already made yourself perfectly clear about that. Besides, you're the one paying and you therefore have veto power. However, if I say it's something she's _definitely _going to need, then you have to listen to me."

Gold definitely did not like the terms of this arrangement but sighed and said "Fair enough."

Ruby's arms were full in no time with jeans and a couple tops in various colors and sizes. When the load grew too big, she brought it all over to the counter and said "Keep those there, we still have some work to do!" Overall, she thought she was doing very well. Gold had only ruled out _one _item: a gold sequin miniskirt.

"I don't care if the color of that belt trying to pass itself off as a skirt and my last name are the same," he had growled. So, he couldn't take a joke. Whatever, it wasn't a big loss to her. Sweaters, hats, jackets, coats, several pairs of pajamas, and skirts and dresses with less objectionable hemlines were added to the growing pile on the counter.

"I wish I knew her shoe size," Ruby said aloud. "Oh, well, I guess we move on to underwear." She bit her lip to stop herself from snickering at Gold's expression. "I know you don't know her sizes, but could you at least guess for the bra size? What are we looking for? A cup? B cup? C cup?"

Gold looked bewildered. "They come in letters?" Ruby couldn't help herself. She laughed, earning a glare from Gold.

"Here's an idea: I take her out bra shopping later," Ruby offered. "All we'll need is your card. For now, let's get her some camisoles so she at least has _something_." She grabbed a few of those off the rack and brought them to the register. "You start looking and pick some out!" she called over her shoulder.

He would kill her for this later, she was sure, but she would enjoy the fun while it lasted.

When she _did _return to the underwear section Gold was browsing through, she was horrified by what he had in his hands.

"Oh, my God! Do you hate her or something?" Ruby gasped. She grabbed the underwear from him. "These are _granny panties! _It's a one way ticket to killing a girl's self esteem! I swear, I can't trust you with _any _of this." Ruby threw the objectionable panties back to the hell hole from whence they came and started picking out her own choices.

Gold made a noise of protest at some of them but Ruby cut him off. "First off, you aren't going to be seeing her in these-at least, I hope you aren't and if you are, please don't tell me because that is TMI-so you aren't allowed to veto this decision. Secondly, she cannot go around just wearing the cotton panties with cute little designs on them. Sometimes a girl wants to feel confident and sexy. For that to happen, she needs something with _lace_. It's not like I'm getting her a G-string. Unless she's into that." Ruby was having a hard time distinguishing whether his face was going red from embarrassment or anger. She sincerely hoped it was the former or she was going to have to explain to Granny why their rent was jacked up. "The worst thing I picked out for her are the cheekies. You can _hardly _call those risqué. I'll finish up here. You go get her some socks. The white cotton ones should _not _go past her ankle. The only long socks allowed are those that were designed for warm weather."

She watched Gold sulk away to the socks and she couldn't help but wonder if _this _was what it was like to have power. No wonder it went to Gold's head.

Ruby's eyes bugged out of her head at the final price when the clothes were finally rung through but Gold hardly batted an eye and wordlessly handed over his credit card to the cashier. Owning a town certainly paid well.

She helped him carry most of the bags out to his car. She may still hate his guts but he still had a limp. Ruby was many things, but she wasn't cruel.

"Thank you for all of your help today, Ruby," Gold said. He brought out his wallet and started to extract money. As much as it pained her, Ruby put her hand over Gold's.

"You can't pay me now. We're not done yet," Ruby reminded him. "We need to stop by the beauty supply store and the drug store."

Gold groaned and looked toward the sky as if he was just begging to be struck down now where he stood so he wouldn't have to deal with this anymore. The feeling was mutual, but Ruby was determined to help out the poor soul that got stuck with Gold.

* * *

**Any Rumbelle oneshot requests/prompts? Let me know with your review!**


	5. Chapter 5

**WOW! I'm blown away by all the reviews I got for last chapter. Thank you all so much and I hope you enjoy this chapter, too.**

* * *

As helpful as Ruby had been that day, Mr. Gold was about ready to throttle her. She was using his ignorance about women as an opportunity to embarrass him at every turn. Mr. Gold: pawnbroker, landlord, lawyer, was really considering bolting for his car and running away from an irresponsible waitress nearly half his age.

He should have sent Ruby in the drugstore with some cash and let her make the purchases but he _stupidly _followed her in because he honestly hadn't known what they came in here for. It was his own fault for not asking, but he was just blindly following at this point so he could get back to Belle.

"Just one last thing, Mr. Gold!" Ruby sang as she led him through the aisles. She stopped short in front of the section labeled _Feminine Hygiene._

Wait.

What?

No!

_Hell _no!

So help him, if he _ever _got his magic back, he would obliterate the she-wolf where she stood. Nobody was going to stop him either. It was going to be instantaneous.

_ I've got magic again! BOOM! You're dead!_

"Here you go!" Ruby tossed a pink box to him. Oh, _hell _no! He was _not _going to be seen with that!

Gold side stepped and let the box land on the floor a few feet away from him. Ruby snickered.

"Oh grow up," Ruby said. She walked past him to pick up the box from the floor. "It's not like you're gonna spontaneously sprout a uterus if you hold the box for too long." She held the box out to him but he refused to touch it. "Mr. Gold, come on, seriously. They're just tam-"

"I know what they are!" Gold hissed. He dug in his wallet and pulled out a twenty. "You go pay for them!"

Ruby didn't take the money. "This is for _your _houseguest, Mr. Gold. The _least _you could do is pay for these. How long is she staying, by the way?"

"Indefinitely," Gold muttered.

"So sometime down the road when she needs theses again-and trust me, she will-are you just going to drop her off at the door with a couple of bucks and make her go in and buy this herself? You wouldn't just pick it up for her while you're getting a few other things for yourself?"

Inspiration struck Mr. Gold. "Hold on just a minute," he implored. He left Ruby and grabbed a basket. He limped up and down a few aisles, grabbing things at random. He came back a few minutes later with a box of Band-Aids, a couple of granola bars, a box of nasal decongestant, a few bottles of water, and a pack of cotton balls.

"Just…bury it underneath all this," he told Ruby. She snickered but complied and he led the way to the counter. He was lucky nobody else was in the store but himself and Ruby. Then he would _never _hear the end of this.

He put the basket down on the counter with a little more force than necessary, making the clerk jump. "Make it quick," he barked. Gold was truly anxious to just get home to Belle now. Despite the fact that he absolutely trusted Mary Margaret, he hadn't liked leaving Belle alone with her this morning. Still, she had been the best choice out of everyone in the town.

Gold knew she was well and didn't need a cricket giving her a clean bill of health to tell him so. But this curse wasn't broken yet so he had no choice but to keep up appearances while quietly ushering Emma Swan along the path to her destiny.

"Tell _anyone _about this and I will _quadruple _your rent," Gold growled threateningly when the clerk paused at the blasted pink box. "And double bag that item. I don't want anyone seeing it through the plastic."

They quickly complied and Gold paid. Ruby finally came out of her hiding spot and helped him take the bags out to the car. "Where to now?" Ruby asked, grinning.

"_I'm _going home," Gold growled. He got into the car. Ruby got in on the passenger's side. "Ruby, I appreciate all your help today _despite _you being a gigantic thorn in my side. I'll pay you now, and then we can go our separate ways."

"Mr. Gold!" Ruby admonished. "What _kind _of person would I be if I didn't help you carry all of these bags into your house? What would my _GRANNY _think of me?" She buckled her seatbelt and smiled brightly at him.

Gold glared.

"Your grandmother will probably have an aneurysm when she finds out what you've been doing today," Gold said. Ruby's smile faltered ever so slightly. "You're just coming back to my house to see Belle, aren't you?!"

Ruby looked confused. "Who's Belle?" she asked. Then her face lit up with comprehension. "Oh! The chick staying at your house! Is that her name? Belle? That's a nice name."

"Go home, Ruby," Gold ordered.

"I just want to see how she likes all the clothes," Ruby pouted. Gold gave her a look. "Okay, fine! I really, really, really, _really _want to meet her! I'm _curious_. I'm taking her shopping for _bras _later this week-and we really need to confirm a time on that soon, by the way. It'll be less awkward if I meet her now instead of showing up at your door in a couple of days and being like 'Hey, I'm Ruby! Let's go find a bra that'll make your boobs look amazing!'"

_"RUBY!"_

"I have a good feeling about her! I haven't met her yet but from what you've told me I'm pretty sure that we could be best friends! It's like in that book Granny made me read _Anne of Green Gables _where Anne hadn't even met Diana yet but she knew they'd be best friends and then they _totally _were. _Please_, take me back to meet her!" Ruby pleaded. Gold shook his head, frowning. Nope. He wasn't taking Ruby to meet Belle. No way. He _refused._

"I'll give you a free ice cream cone next time you come into Granny's," she offered. Gold exhaled slowly, closing his eyes.

"_Two _ice cream cones," he countered. "Next time I go to Granny's I intend to take Belle."

Ruby nodded eagerly. "It's a deal!"

Gold was now seriously considering raising Mary Margaret's rent for putting him through all of this.

* * *

He found them playing cards on a coffee table, laughing with each other. It didn't surprise him in the least. Belle had been just as gifted at making friends in the Enchanted Forest as Mary Margaret had. Maybe there had been some truth to what Ruby had said.

Belle's eyes lit up when she saw him and she smiled brightly. "You're back!" she said.

Before Gold could reply, he was interrupted by Ruby bustling in with as many shopping bags as she could carry. "Alright, which way?" she asked. Her eyes landed on Belle. "You must be _Belle!_ I'm Ruby. I helped this guy out with the shopping today. I don't know why he needed me, though. Mr. Gold has _pretty excellent _taste."

Gold gave her a questioning look. Ruby had criticized his choices left and right today. Why was she lying about it?

"I'll show you the way," Belle offered quietly, standing up.

"I'll see myself out," Mary Margaret said, standing up. "It was nice meeting you, Belle."

Belle nodded. "You, too."

"Come on!" Ruby urged. "We need to see what fits and what doesn't. Plus I still got a few more things to get out of the car."

Belle looked bewildered as she began to lead Ruby toward the stairs. "How much did he buy?" she asked.

Ruby laughed. "This isn't even half!"

Mary Margaret smiled warmly as she watched Belle retreat. "She's so nice!" she gushed. "We had a great time today. We watched some TV and we sat in the backyard for a while-I found a blanket for her to use while we were out there," she added quickly when she saw concern flash across Gold's face. "The burns on her hands are looking _much _better. Oh, and she insisted on making peanut butter cookies for _someone_."

Gold kept his expression impassive. "Thank you for all your help today, Miss Blanchard. I was in desperate need of it. And Ruby's. But don't tell her I said that."

"Oh, it was no trouble at all, Mr. Gold," Mary Margaret said. Gold pulled a few bills out of his wallet and handed them over to the schoolteacher. "What was she in the hospital for, anyway? She seems perfectly healthy to me."

"She was in the psych ward," he admitted. Mary Margaret was stunned. "Belle has been given a clean bill of health from Doctor Hopper. Whatever reason she was locked away down there, I'm going to find out. She was never meant to be there."

Mary Margaret nodded. "No, of course not. I can't believe anyone would do something like that to her. She's so nice!"

Gold nodded, agreeing. "Shall I see you out?" he offered, gesturing towards the door.

They bid their goodbyes and he shut the door behind her. Ruby came down the stairs just a few moments later. "Impressive house, here, Mr. Gold!" she said. "I'm going to get a few more things out of the car-"

"Not just yet," he said warningly. He stepped in front of the door to block her access. "You lied. To Belle. You hated nearly everything I picked out today. Now, I'm suddenly a fashion expert. Why the lie?"

Ruby rolled her eyes. "Come on! Really? I just helped you out and you're going to complain."

Gold's brow furrowed in confusion. "You helped me out?"

"Mr. Gold, seriously, give me some credit. I can _tell _when a man has a bad case of the googly eyes for a pretty girl."

"I didn't even say anything to her!" Mr. Gold protested.

"Well you talked a lot _about _her today. Several clothing items I picked out today you agreed with immediately because it 'matched her eyes.' If you were doing this for a friend you wouldn't give a damn if it matched their eyes. You practically ran into the house when we pulled up just a few minutes ago. And when I came in the house, you were _smiling. Smiling! _I've only seen you smirk, so this girl must be pretty special for you to smile."

"Most people would be up there trying to convince her to run from the town monster," Mr. Gold said.

Ruby shook her head. "Monsters don't do nice things like this for other people. You like her. It's your life. Why should I get in the way of that?"

Wordlessly, he stepped aside to let Ruby pass. _Maybe I _won't_ kill her when I have magic again,_ Gold thought to himself.

* * *

Belle seemed beyond pleased with all of the clothes she had gotten that day. She and Ruby had become friends instantly, just as Ruby had predicted.

"Is everyone in this town really nice?" Belle wondered over dinner that night. She was wearing a dark blue pajama set with a crescent moon and stars design. It reminded Gold a little bit of the hat he had kept back in the Dark Castle.

"There's David, who rescued me, Sister Astrid, who bandaged up my hands, there's Archie, who told me I'm not crazy, there's Mary Margaret, who is probably one of the sweetest people I've ever met, there's Ruby, who does a _lot _of talking, and most importantly there's _you_."

Mr. Gold smiled at his ranking. "Thank you, dearie," he said. "I'm glad you're taking to the town so well."

"You didn't answer my question," Belle pointed out in a sing-song voice.

Gold shook his head. "No, I didn't. Mostly people in this town are rather nice. However-" He was interrupted by a pounding on his front door. Belle jumped and her eyes went wide with fear.

"Mr. Gold?" he heard. "It's Emma! Open up! I need to talk to you!" Gold let out a long breath. What did the sheriff want now?

He pushed back from the table and grabbed his cane. "It's just the sheriff," he assured Belle. "I'll see what she wants."

Emma looked rather angry when he opened the door and decided to step outside onto the porch with her so her voice wouldn't carry back to Belle.

"Can I help you, Sheriff?"

Emma huffed angrily. "The fire at the hospital was _no _accident. It was arson."

"And your point?" Gold said when she said nothing more. She gave him a look. "You think _I _started the fire?"

Emma narrowed her eyes at him. "You do have a history with starting fires to get what you want," she said accusingly.

"Ah, I see. So you decided 'where there's smoke...'" he quipped. "Well I'm going to have to disappoint you, dearie. It wasn't me. You're barking up the wrong tree."

"Why should I believe you?" Emma challenged. "There's a fire that's started in the basement of the hospital-the _asylum_-and you just so happen to have someone staying with you that was a patient there."

Gold shook his head. "I take it Mary Margaret didn't keep her mouth shut for very long about Belle, did she? Now, Miss Swan, let's look at the evidence, shall we? How long had the fire been going by the time I arrived there _with _Dr. Hopper? It couldn't have been that long and I was clear on the other side of town when I learned what was happening. Do you honestly believe that I snuck into the hospital, into a restricted access area that I didn't even know _existed, _started a fire, ran to the other side of town and then show up at the hospital with Dr. Hopper all in the span of…what? Ten minutes? Fifteen? With _this _leg?" He tapped the offending leg lightly with his cane to drive home his point.

"Until David Nolan came running out of the building with her, I didn't even know Belle was _alive_," Mr. Gold confessed. "I was led to believe that she died and finding her again was nothing more than a happy accident. Now if you'll excuse me, my dinner is getting cold. Unless you have more questions for me?"

Emma shook her head. "Not right now. But I will get to the bottom of this, Gold."

"Yeah, well, like I said," he turned to face her again from the open doorway. "You're barking up the wrong tree."

* * *

**Gold and Ruby bonded! Sort of. Belle will be out and about in the town soon. I originally wasn't going to write any sort of drugstore scene because I thought _"Nobody wants to see Mr. Gold buy _that_!" _To my surprise, nearly every one of my reviews was asking for that scene so I did it! And I think it came out better than I expected.**

**I'm working on a Rumbelle oneshot but I don't know when I plan to have it up yet. Maybe before the next chapter, maybe after. Keep an eye out.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Sorry for the delay, I was out of town. For your patience, I give you an extra long chapter!**

* * *

The doors swung open of their own accord, revealing the large hall beyond them bathed in moonlight. She walked past the long table to the spinning wheel in the corner. An invisible force was making it spin all on its own. Echoing, faint voices started out as whispers in her ears. The volume grew louder until she could finally hear the voices clear as day.

_Why do you spin so much?_

_ I like to watch the wheel. Helps me forget._

_ Forget what?_

Belle gasped and shot up in bed. She hadn't dreamed of the spinning wheel for a while now. It had never been in that room before. It used to just…exist.

She dropped back down against the pillows and stared at the ceiling. She wasn't crazy. Archie said so. He had been by that morning. She caught sight of the clock. No, it had been yesterday morning.

The dream meant nothing. The wheel meant nothing. She repeated this mantra to herself.

Slowly, she drifted back into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

Belle was starting to get used to the stares. Ruby had already told her that morning to "just ignore them. You're new-sort of-and the novelty will where off pretty fast for them. They'll stop staring when they have something new to talk about."

So by the time she and Ruby had finished their shopping, dropped it all off back at Gold's house, and went to Granny's diner, she hardly noticed the townspeople staring openly at her. In fact, the staring had lessened considerably.

"Are you sure you don't want to order?" Ruby asked. Belle shook her head.

"I want to wait for him," she insisted. "He'll be here in a few minutes." She had called Gold from Ruby's cell phone when they got to the diner and he had assured her he would close up his shop and meet her there for lunch.

She scanned over the menu while she waited and so she would stop looking up expectantly every time she heard the bell ring. People would begin to think she was a lovesick schoolgirl if she had carried on like that for much longer.

"Eating lunch alone today?" a voice asked. She looked up. A man dressed in a suit and tie-though it was nowhere near as nice as anything Mr. Gold wore-was standing before her. He had red hair that seemed to defy gravity.

"I'm waiting for someone," Belle explained. "They should be here soon."

"Well in that case, I should keep you company until they arrive," the man decided and he slid into the booth on the seat across from her. He smiled at her. "Allow me to introduce myself." He held out a hand. "My name is Dr. Whale. Who might you be?"

Belle hesitantly shook his hand. "Belle. You're a…_doctor_?"

Dr. Whale gave a little laugh. "I take it you don't like doctors. It's okay, not a lot of people do."

"I've just had some…bad experiences," she explained vaguely.

"Well that's just because you haven't met the right kind of doctor. Luckily for _you_," he leaned in a little closer and said in a whisper "I'm the right kind of doctor."

This may have been Belle's first official outing into the town, but she wasn't _clueless._ She could recognize a flirting man. "I haven't seen you around," Doctor Whale observed. "Are you new in town?"

Belle shrugged. "Sort of. I'm getting reacquainted with it."

Dr. Whale nodded. "Well, I'll give you a few pieces of advice. First piece is this: try and steer clear of Mr. Gold."

Belle looked confused. "Stay away from Mr. Gold? Why?"

"He's more monster than man," Dr. Whale explained. "He owns the town. Everyone pays rent to him and he's ruthless with all that power. He's not a good man, he's not a nice man, so I'll warn you now before you run into him: stay away and find better company. Like me, for instance." He gave her a rather cheeky grin.

The man Dr. Whale described was nothing like the man she knew at all. Was it all just a lie or was Gold really as terrible as Dr. Whale said? No, he couldn't be. If he did own the town, then she could understand his being a little…strict. But the man she had come to known after staying with him for nearly a week was nothing like the man Dr. Whale described at all. Maybe he just hadn't had the chance to get to know Mr. Gold like she had.

"Thank you for the warning, but I think I'll trust my own judgment on who I think is good company," Belle assured him.

Dr. Whale looked around the diner. "If your friend isn't showing up, I'd be happy to have lunch with you. It sure beats the cafeteria food at the hospital," he offered.

"That won't be necessary." Belle jumped and turned around at the familiar voice. Gold was standing behind her. Damn, he was sneaky. She had been watching the door, too. Still, she smiled up at him.

"Mr. Gold," Dr. Whale said shakily. He hurriedly stood up. "I didn't know you two were meeting for lunch." Gold said nothing and gave Dr. Whale a look. "It was nice to meet you. I'll be going now." Dr. Whale nodded at her and Gold before turning around and walking out the front door.

"How did you get in here without me noticing?" Belle asked as Gold slid into Dr. Whale's recently vacated seat.

"Magic," he quipped. Belle raised an eyebrow. "Back door."

Belle nodded. She should have known that the answer would be so simple.

"I apologize for running a little late," Gold said. "I also hope Dr. Whale didn't bother you too much. He fancies himself the town Casanova. He's mostly annoying, but harmless. Especially when you compare him to some of the more…seedy characters from the local bar."

Belle nodded. "I'll avoid the local bar, then," she promised. "And probably Doctor Whale, too."

Ruby came flouncing over to them. "Would you like those ice cream cones now or later?" she asked as she handed Mr. Gold a menu.

Belle was confused. She hadn't remembered mentioning anything about ice cream. "What?"

"Later," Gold answered for her. "I'll have a water."

Ruby turned to Belle expectantly. "I want to try the iced tea," she decided.

"You've never had iced tea before?" Ruby said in surprise. "Well, there's a first time for everything." She turned away to go get their drink orders.

"Shopping with Ruby go well this morning?" Gold asked as he scanned over the menu.

Belle nodded. "Yes, it did. I'll have to show you what I bought later." She realized what she had said. "The shoes!" Belle clarified. "Not the other...yeah," she ended awkwardly.

Mr. Gold, to his credit, didn't seem offended or embarrassed and if he was, he did a very good job of hiding it.

"Have you ever had the lasagna?" Belle asked as a way of moving past the awkwardness.

Gold nodded. "I have. Many people like it, but I think it's a little overly praised."

"Do you now?" Ruby challenged as she set down the drink orders on the table.

Gold gave her a look. "I know frozen lasagna when I see it." Ruby rolled her eyes at him, smiled at Belle and then walked away.

Eventually Belle went with Gold's recommendation of a burger, which he ordered for himself, too. Granny was the one who brought them out to them instead of Ruby.

"They smell delicious!" Belle gushed to Granny.

"They _are _delicious," Granny said. "Oh, and I charge extra for pickles, by the way," she commented offhandedly to Gold.

"I have a complicated relationship with that woman," Gold told Belle after Granny had walked away. "As I do most people."

"Maybe she just needs to get to know you better," Belle guessed. She bit into a french fry and nodded approvingly.

"So long as you approve of me, everyone else doesn't matter," Gold decided. He squeezed some ketchup on to his burger and on to his plate to dip his fries in before offering the bottle to her. "Would you like some? Condiments _are _the world's most powerful magic."

Belle laughed and took the bottle, her fingers brushing against his as he did so. "I thought the world's most powerful magic would be something like love."

An odd look crossed across Gold's face before he smiled, nodded, and said "Yes, that, too I suppose."

The hamburger was just as delicious as it had smelled. Belle hadn't had a hamburger since…actually, she couldn't remember the last time she had had a hamburger. It had been so long it felt like this was her first time ever having one. The two of them ate together mostly in silence. Belle couldn't help but notice that the stares had started up again.

"Dr. Whale didn't have very nice things to say about you," Belle said. Gold raised an eyebrow.

"Is that so? What exactly did he say?" She didn't miss the slight edge to his voice as he spoke.

"That I should stay away from you and that you were a monster," Belle admitted truthfully. "I told him I was perfectly capable of deciding who was worthy of my time."

"And I am?" Gold questioned. He looked hesitant again, like the first time she had met him when the offer of coming with him hung in the air and he wasn't sure if she accepted.

"Of course," Belle said instantly. "Besides, I pride myself on my ability to spot monsters from afar and you sir, are _not_ a monster."

Gold nodded, looking relieved. "You think highly of me." It wasn't a question.

"You've given me no reason not to," Belle pointed out.

Gold gave her a little mock bow from his seat. "Well, I will do my best to continue to live up to your standards," he promised and this made Belle positively beam.

Ruby swooped in when they were both done eating and cleared their plates. "Vanilla, chocolate, or strawberry?" she asked.

"Is this about the ice cream again?" Belle inquired.

Gold nodded. "Right you are there, dearie. Ruby here owes me a favor," he explained.

"Two ice cream cones on the house as payment for him having to put up with shopping with me," Ruby added with a playful smile.

"Chocolate," Belle decided.

"Same for me," Gold said.

Belle caught sight of something past Ruby. "Your Granny seems to be in a rather heated discussion over there," she noticed. Ruby rolled her eyes.

"Gossiping about Mary Margaret," she bit out. "It's really none of their business. I mean, yeah, she shouldn't have been sneaking around with a married guy but David is just as much at fault here and yet _nobody _ever blames the guy for being a total man-whore and it's always the girl that gets the blame…I'm getting carried away," Ruby realized. "I'm gonna go get you that ice cream now." Ruby walked away, shooting daggers at her Granny and the horde of gossiping women.

"This is quite a town!" Belle said. "It really is unfair of them to talk about Mary Margaret like that, though. She's only human."

"So you think it was perfectly fine for her to engage in an affair with a married man?" Gold asked.

Belle grimaced. "No," she admitted. "But it doesn't change the fact that she's a human and humans make mistakes. Granted, she made a really big one, but is it really fair of them to gossip so openly about it? At the rate they're going, Mary Margaret's going to be ostracized from the entire town."

Gold nodded in agreement. "Indeed, it seems to be headed that way." Ruby handed both of them their ice cream cones and they fell into silence again as they ate their desserts. "What else would you like to do today? If you're feeling overwhelmed I can take you back home," Gold offered.

"Can I come see your shop?" Belle asked. "I don't really have much else to do all day back at the house."

Gold gave her a little half smile. "I suppose you could. But I must warn you: it can get terribly boring in there."

"So long as _you're _there, I have a feeling I will be sufficiently entertained," Belle decided.

They walked together back to his shop, talking and laughing. Both chose to ignore the stares and whispers that followed them the whole way.

Belle loved the shop from the moment Gold unlocked the door and led her inside. She could tell that every piece had a history and a interesting story behind them. It was like a collector's daydream in the shop.

"Do you go by anything else besides Mr. Gold?" Belle asked when they entered the shop. "That's all anyone ever calls you. Certainly you have a first name."

Gold nodded, chuckling. "Indeed I do. I don't give it away freely, though. Names are power, dearie. If I gave away my name to everyone in town, they'd get too familiar and then they'd try appealing to my better half for extensions on their rent and their loan payments. Then this whole town would be nothing but chaos."

"But I don't pay rent to you," Belle pointed out. "You could tell me your name…if you wanted."

He thought it over carefully before answering "In time, I will. I promise."

Belle rolled her eyes. "Honestly, with how secretive you are with your name, I might as well call you Rumplestiltskin," she joked. Her back was turned to him, so she didn't see Gold's eyes widen at what she said.

"I feel like these puppets are watching me," Belle said, snapping him out of his shock. "It's rather unsettling."

"That's because they _are _watching, dearie," Gold told her, coming up behind her. She jumped a little, not expecting the sudden closeness.

"Oh, don't say things like that!" Belle admonished. "How could they be watching me?"

"It's a long story," he said offhandedly, adjusting the puppets some. "I'm sure you wouldn't want to hear it."

Belle crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes at Gold. "You know better than anyone that I have spent most of my waking hours with my nose stuck in a book since coming to stay with you. I love stories and I would _love _to hear this one. Now," she gestured to the puppets, "tell me the story. You can even shorten the story, if you'd like."

Gold nodded. "Very well, then. A long time ago in a far off land, a young boy travelled across the land with his parents and their travelling puppet show. The boy was kind and honest, but his parents were thieves and schemers that often cheated people out of their money. They even got their boy to do their dirty work and pick pockets while they performed. The boy had no choice but to do what his parents said, but all the while he wished to be free like a cricket." Belle casually leaned against the counter, smiling. She nodded encouragingly when Gold paused in his story so he continued with it.

"The boy grew up into a man and one day went to visit The Dark One: Rumplestiltskin." Belle seemed excited and intrigued by this interesting turn in the story. "He wanted a way out of the life he had with his parents so Rumplestiltskin gave him a magic potion. Soon after that, his parents conducted another one of their schemes that cheated a young couple out of many of their possessions in exchange for a cure to the plague that was nothing more than a bottle of water. The man grew angry at his parents for doing this and threw the potion at them. Only it _wasn't _the potion. His parents had switched it. The man tried to warn the couple but when he ran back to their cottage, it was too late and they had become this." His hand made a grand sweeping gesture to the puppets.

"And what of the boy?" Belle asked. "Whatever happened to him? Did he get his freedom?"

Gold nodded. "Yes, he did, and he led a very happy life ever since then."

"You should consider writing a book, Mr. Gold," Belle said as she walked casually down the counter, looking through the glass as she went. "You tell very good stories. I nearly believed it was true."

"Who's to say it isn't?" His voice was light and joking, even if he was serious. But Belle didn't know that. Not yet, at least. "Let me know if you see something else that captures your fancy and I'll tell you the story behind it. Although not _everything _in here comes with such an exciting tale."

Belle reached up and touched the unicorn mobile lightly, smiled, but kept walking along until she reached the counter at the back of the store. She nearly walked past it, too, but she stopped, stared, and then walked behind the counter and reached into the display case.

She pulled out a chipped teacup.

Belle smiled sadly as she looked at it. "The poor thing is chipped," she remarked.

Gold nodded, walking back toward her. "Yes, it is, and that makes it all the more valuable," he told her. Belle was confused.

"You would think damage to an object would make it less valuable," she said. Gold was in front of her now. He rested his cane on the counter so he could stand freely. "Besides, it's just a cup, right?"

Gold shook his head. "What you're holding in your hands there is many things, dearie, but above all, remember this…" He reached out and held the teacup with both hands, his overlapping hers. "This is not _just _a cup. It always has been and always will be more than that."

Belle was intrigued now. She knew by his sincerity that this story would be nothing like the puppets. Gold dropped his hands from hers and Belle tried to ignore the feeling of disappointment when he did.

"Tell me about it," Belle demanded. "Tell me about the story behind this chipped cup. It sounds really important."

Gold nodded. "It is. It's the most important cup in history."

"Even more than the Holy Grail?"

"The Holy Grail _pales _in comparison to this cup," he growled. "If I had to choose between the two, I'd choose this cup every time and so would everyone else if they knew the story."

Belle leaned in closer. "Is this one a true story?" she asked.

Gold nodded. "It is. Now, where do I begin? Oh yes: once upon a time there was a lonely man. He had no friends or family. Nobody wanted to befriend him either because he was such a miserable old grump and had a reputation of being quite malicious. One day, he hired a caretaker for his castle. She was to live there with him, cook, clean, dust, et cetera. His real reason for hiring her was because he was lonely and longed for company and someone to talk to. On her very first day working for him she accidentally dropped this cup and chipped it. The caretaker had heard the rumors of the beastly man before her and she was worried that he would be livid with her. However, he hardly cared at all and that's when the caretaker knew."

"Knew what?" Belle asked, in a near whisper, enraptured with the story.

"Knew that there was a man somewhere behind the beast," Gold told her. "The lonely man was not looking for love when he hired his caretaker, but love found him anyway. She was a beautiful woman who loved an ugly man. Really, really, loved him. And he loved her equally in return. They were each other's True Love. But the man had been in love twice before and twice both of those women betrayed him and cast him aside. So when his caretaker professed her love for the lonely man, he didn't believe her and cast her out of his castle."

Belle was saddened by this. "Why would he do that?"

"Because despite everything, he was still a coward at heart," Gold said. "The caretaker got the last word in. She called him out on his cowardice and told him that he would regret this forever. The man, heartbroken and in pain, flew into a rage after she left and smashed nearly everything in sight…except for this cup." Gold began to run a finger over the rim. "He put it on a pedestal and wept over it nearly every day, bitterly regretting letting his one and only chance at true love slip through his fingers."

Belle was surprised to find her eyes tearing up at the story. It had tugged a little too hard on her heartstrings. Gold, seeing her like this, pulled the silk handkerchief out of his breast pocket and held it out to her.

"Thanks," Belle said. She took the handkerchief and dabbed at her eyes. "You tell wonderfully sad stories, Gold."

"Robert," he said. "My name. You can call me that in private, if you so like," he offered. "There are many, many things in this shop. But this?" He picked up the cup with both hands and held it up to Belle. "This is the _only _thing I truly cherish."

"If you cherish it so much, why do you keep it in the shop?" Belle wondered. "It can't possibly be for sale."

"It isn't," Gold said immediately. "But I thought it'd be safer here than in my home. This cup has already seen enough heartbreak for a lifetime."

The whole story still made Belle feel strangely sad. It was just a story. It was just a cup.

Except now it wasn't. Now it would always be more than that.

She dabbed at her eyes with the handkerchief again.

"So tell me, Robert, more about this lonely man. Did he ever go after his True Love? Did he ever find happiness?"

Gold gave Belle a little half smile. "Well, that remains to be seen."

* * *

**I was considering having the Sheriff of Nottingham coming to bother Belle but I decided on Doctor Whale instead after seeing the extended preview for Second Star to the Right (plus I hate the Sheriff of Nottingham).**

**I want to write more fluff for them but Belle has only been with Rumple for about a week. There will be fluff later, I promise!**

**Q: _Why is Belle not Lacey in this story?_**

**A: Because she never was Lacey until the Evil Queen used a little bit of magic to give her false memories. When Jefferson rescues her in the season one finale, she is clearly Belle, but with total amnesia, and she reverted to this state when she crossed over the town line. But Regina has no magic at this point in the story so Lacey won't come to be.**

**Thanks for reading!**


	7. Chapter 7

Belle hung up the phone with a little more force than necessary, groaning in frustration. She rested her head on the desk. It was probably about time to admit defeat.

"No luck on the job hunt?" Gold asked. Belle had decided yesterday that she needed a job. She couldn't sit around the house all day doing nothing and it would be a nice normal thing to do that Archie would approve of. So she started calling through most of yesterday afternoon and this morning with no luck.

Belle opened an eye to peek at him. He was looking through a toolbox and she remembered him mentioning needing to repair a watch. She picked her head up and ran a hand through her hair.

"How is it that _nobody _is hiring?" Belle complained.

"Well it is a small town, dearie," Gold reminded her.

"If only that library were open! I'd love to work there." An idea came to her and she looked over to a certain Mr. Robert Gold. "You own pretty much every building in town, right?" she said slowly.

He stopped searching through his toolbox. "Where are you going with this, Belle?" he asked cautiously.

"Nowhere," said Belle. "I was merely going to suggest that since you own nearly every single building in town, then it's _logical _to assume that the library must be under your ownership as well." She stood up and moved over to him, standing close to him. "Certainly you must have a key."

Gold went stiff at her closeness but relaxed somewhat after a moment. He turned to her, a sad sort of smile on his face. "I would if I could, dearie," he said. "But the library is closed for a reason."

"What reason?" Belle demanded.

"Well for starters, there's all sorts of electrical problems, everything is in shambles, there's insects and rats."

Belle shuddered at the mention of rats. "And that's not even half of what would have to be done to the building. Plus, while the librarian _would _have to pay rent to me, it is technically a public building and the city council would have to decide if it is worth spending or raising the money that would be required to repair it."

Belle frowned. "And they wouldn't approve that, would they?" she asked, even though she knew the answer.

"The majority of them wouldn't," he answered truthfully. "I'm sorry, Belle, I truly am. If you want a job, I could always use some help around the shop," he offered.

"You've already done so much for me and I am very grateful for that, but I do need to do something on my own." Belle laughed a little. "Only problem is that you're the only one who's offered me a job."

Gold's face lit up as an idea came to him. "Maybe you can't get a paying job at the moment, but there are always plenty of volunteer jobs." He led her back over to the phone and he dialed a number for her. "Mary Margaret is always volunteering," Gold told her. "Ask her if she knows about anything." He handed the phone back over to her just as Mary Margaret picked up.

"Hi, Mary Margaret, it's Belle," Belle greeted cheerily. "I'm doing very well, thank you. Listen, I wanted to ask you something. I'm having trouble finding a paying job at the moment and Mr. Gold says that you do a lot of volunteer work. Is there anything available I could help…no I'm not busy today at all." She turned her head toward Gold and grinned at him. "I'm at Mr. Gold's shop right now if you want to meet me here. That sounds great! I'll see you in a couple of minutes." Belle hung up the phone and went over to Gold. Without a second thought, she flung her arms around his neck and enveloped him in a tight hug.

"Thank you!" she squealed. "Thankyouthankyouthankyou!"

Slowly, hesitantly, he returned the hug. "It was nothing, dearie. Merely a suggestion."

Belle pulled back, but kept her hands gripped on his shoulders. "Your suggestion just got me my very first volunteer job. I never would have even thought of it if it weren't for you." She let go of him and grabbed her coat, scarf, and hat from the coat rack.

"I'll be closing around nine tonight," Gold said, following Belle into the front of the shop. "If you're not back here by then, I'll assume that Mary Margaret is taking you home."

"I'll try to be back by then," Belle promised. "Will you be bored without me?"

Gold shrugged. "Probably. But I'm sure I'll find something to occupy my time." Belle laughed at the blunt honesty of the statement.

"I want to make dinner tomorrow," Belle announced suddenly. Gold started to protest.

"Belle," he said, but she cut him off.

"Robert, you've already done so much for me. Let me do something for you. I know one dinner comes nowhere close to repaying you, but it's a start."

"You don't have to repay me," Gold insisted.

"I _want _to," Belle countered. She hesitated, looking like she wanted to say something.

"Out with it, dearie," Gold urged her gently.

Belle bit her lip nervously. "Do you think you could tell me more about my past?" she asked. "You said we knew each other and I do believe you. I hoped that being in the town and around you would help jog those memories but there's still nothing. It's like any memories I might have had were wiped completely clean."

Gold sighed. "I really think it might be better for you to wait for the memories to return on their own," he admitted. Belle's hopeful look was completely shattered and replaced by a look of disappointment. "I want to tell you," he insisted. "I really do. But you've only been out of the hospital for a week. That's not enough time for a lifetime of memories to come back to you."

Belle looked up at him. "If a month's gone by and my memories still haven't returned…will you tell me _something? _It doesn't have to be anything big. I'd just really like to know more about myself."

Slowly, Gold nodded. "Alright, dearie. We have a deal."

Belle grinned triumphantly. "Good."

* * *

"There's usually a lot more volunteers for this," Mary Margaret explained apologetically. "They all dropped out." Belle took in all the boxes of candles they were supposed to sell. It would be difficult enough with just the two of them. How Mary Margaret would have managed on her own was beyond her.

"Maybe they all had a…family emergency?" Belle suggested, although she was doubtful. Mary Margaret shook her head.

"I'd really like to believe that but the truth is that nobody wants to help out the town harlot." She looked at Belle and smiled sadly. "I'm surprised _you _want to help out."

"Of course I want to help out," Belle said. "You're my friend and you've been nothing but kind to me. I am sorry about what happened with you and David, though."

Mary Margaret took a shuddering breath. "I'll get over it," she assured Belle before handing her a clipboard. "Here, all volunteers need to fill this out."

They both busied themselves with the paperwork. Belle spotted Sister Astrid and wanted to say hello, but decided against it when she saw the distressed look on her face.

"Where can I sign up?" a voice said, making Belle jump slightly. A bearded man stood before them, waiting for an answer. Mary Margaret gave him a long look and then went straight back to looking at her paper work.

"What?" the man said. "I want to volunteer to sell candles."

"You do?" Belle asked.

"No, he _doesn't_," Mary Margaret cut in. She looked at the man in front of them again. "You made that _very _clear this morning at Granny's."

"Well," the man said, looking around the room. "Maybe I saw the light. M-maybe someone showed it to me." He leaned on the table, leaning in closer to Mary Margaret. "What difference does it make, sister? It looks like you need all the help you can get. Unless you think the town harlot and the town nutcase can sell a single candle."

"Excuse you!" Belle said indignantly. "I have a name! It's Belle. And I'm _perfectly _sane, thank you very much."

The man held up his hands in mock surrender. "Sorry, sister," he apologized before turning back to Mary Margaret. "Do you want my help, or not?"

"Okay, fine, we need help," Mary Margaret admitted. "No swearing, no drinking, and I get to call _all _the shots!" She shoved a clipboard at Leroy.

"You ordered _how _many tanks of helium?" a voice carried over to them. Belle recognized it as the voice of Mother Superior. She was talking to Astrid.

"I-I _meant _to order twelve," Astrid explained.

Mother Superior's eyes nearly bugged out of her head as she looked over the paper in her hands. "You ordered twelve _dozen._" She sighed and held the paper out to Astrid. "Return them," she ordered.

"There are…no refunds," Astrid said. Her head dropped in guilt.

"We needed that money. You _knew _that. You know how he feels about us," Mother Superior added with a sense of urgency. "You fix this, Sister Astrid. You fix this _now_." Mother Superior left the room and Astrid, looking defeated, collapsed into a chair. The bearded man went over to her without a moment's hesitation.

"Hey," he said. "What's the problem?"

"The problem is I'm an _idiot,_" Astrid said. "We get a stipend each year for expenses and it's all carefully budgeted expect for the part where I spent it all…on _helium._ And now we can't pay our rent."

"So you'll make it up when you get your next stipend," the man reasoned.

"Which isn't until next month! The rent is due next week! And the only income we have are these candles."

The man looked back and forth between the candles and Sister Astrid. Mary Margaret kept glancing up at them, but Belle remained transfixed at the scene unfolding right in front of her. "So how many do you need to sell?"

"Like, a _thousand_."

"How many did you sell last year?"

"Forty-two," Astrid admitted in a small voice.

"Ask your landlord to cut you a break," the man suggested.

Astrid shook her head. "Mr. Gold doesn't offer much leeway."

The man seemed just as surprised as Belle was. "Mr. _Gold's _your landlord?

"If we miss a payment, we're _out_," Astrid stated bluntly. "Then they'll reassign us and we'll have to leave Storybrooke."

The man shook his head. "No you won't," he said seriously. "You know why you only sold forty-two last year? Because you didn't have _me._ This year we're going to sell _all _of them!" he vowed.

"What the hell did Leroy just say?" Mary Margaret whispered to Belle, who just shrugged and shook her head. Of all the times to get lovesick over someone completely unavailable, Leroy happened upon a bad time.

* * *

After several tiring and fruitless hours, Mary Margaret and Belle retired to Granny's diner. Belle was looking down forlornly at the countertop while Mary Margaret twisted the ring on her finger around in frustration. The only candles they had really sold were the ones they bought for themselves and that didn't really count for anything.

"Not selling a single candle wouldn't have been so bad if Leroy didn't decide to get a crush on a _nun!_" Mary Margaret hissed to Belle.

"We don't choose who we fall for," Belle told her gently. "Maybe things won't work out between the two of them, but for now it's given Leroy some hope. He's a dreamer, I can tell." Truthfully, Belle thought there were probably much more impossible romances out there, but saying so in front of Mary Margaret at this time would not be the best idea.

Mary Margaret rubbed her hands over his face. "Yeah, well, his dreaming is going to give me a hangover," Mary Margaret grumbled. "Ruby? A drink, please. Long day."

"Am I really the town nutcase?" Belle asked bluntly. "Leroy called me that and people seemed afraid to come too close to me. Even when I was shopping with Ruby, I saw people whispering. I thought it was just because I was new, but…" Belle sighed. "I just want to make friends."

Mary Margaret looked at her sadly. "Oh, honey, no, you aren't the town nutcase. And you're making friends. There's me, Ruby, and I think Leroy might even be warming up to you. Let's not forget Mr. Gold, either. I mean, he's actually acted…_human _with you. Nobody ever thought he was capable of caring for anyone and then you came along and surprised us all." She raised her drink to Belle. "You're a miracle worker."

Suddenly, Belle got an idea. An idea she can't believe she hadn't thought of until now. "Maybe I can work a miracle tonight," she said. "Maybe I can get the landlord to have a change of heart."

Mary Margaret caught on to what she was saying. "Oh, Belle, no. You can't honestly be thinking of talking to him."

"He's my friend, he'll listen to me," Belle insisted. She started to put on her coat but Mary Margaret grabbed her wrist, stopping her.

"Belle, I know he's your friend and he's been very kind to _you_, but he is _not _kind to everyone else. He's a strict and ruthless landlord. He won't let the nuns get away without paying the rent and he will evict them at a moment's notice. _Nothing _you can say will change his mind."

"Well I have to _try_," Belle insisted, not really listening to Mary Margaret. "If anybody can get him to change his mind, it's me." Despite Mary Margaret's protests, Belle was out of the diner and running down the street in an instant.

Gold was just stepping back into his shop when Belle ran up to him. "Robert!" she called out. He smiled at her.

"Hello, dearie. How was the job?"

Belle shook her head. "It was hellish. That's why I'm here. You're the only one that can turn this day around."

"Am I? How is that?" he asked. He held open the door for her so she could pass through.

"Nobody bought a single candle today," Belle explained. "And Sister Astrid accidentally spent the budget on helium tanks and the nuns can't make the rent until next month."

"I know. Leroy just wasted my time telling me the whole story down at the docks." She didn't miss the menacing tone to his voice and she felt her heart drop to her stomach.

"You can't let it go just this once?" Belle asked in a small voice.

"I _could_, but I won't," he said, limping to the back of the store.

Belle followed close behind. "Please, don't evict them! The nuns will have to leave Storybrooke and Leroy will be heartbroken!"

"Why should I care about the nuns?" Gold demanded. "If they can't pay the rent, then they can't pay the rent. The terms were quite clear to them and they agreed to them. If I don't have that money then they'll have to be evicted. It's as simple as that."

Belle crossed her arms. "What do you have against the nuns?" she asked. "It sounds more personal than a contract."

Gold suddenly became very interested with straightening out a few items on one of the shelves. "Let's just say that I have a rather _bad _history with the nuns-one of them above all the others-and leave it at that."

Belle stepped back, shaking her head in disappointment. "You _really _aren't going to help just this once?" she asked, voice cracking.

"You see, _this _is what everyone else was trying to warn you about," Gold snapped, turning around to face her. "And don't pretend that you don't know what they say about me. Dr. Whale had a nice little chat with you about me, I know Ruby probably had a few _unflattering _things to say about me, and Mary Margaret is _no _saint. I'm sure you two had many a lovely chat about how horrible I am. I may have shown you kindness but that doesn't change the fact that I _am _the town monster. Always have been, always will be and there's no changing that."

Belle shook her head. "No. You are _not _a monster. You're just a man that makes bad decisions. This is just another one of them." She walked back to the shop's door. "If you're not going to help, then I'm just going to have to get those candles sold by myself."

The festival wasn't over yet and Belle was determined to get at least one candle sold. Town nutcase or not, these people would be buying from her. She went back to the booth and started her sales pitch.

"Miner's Day Candles for sale!" Belle called out. People kept walking by her, avoiding eye contact. She was invisible to them. "Take part in Storybrooke tradition! Handmade candles! Get them right here!"

An elderly woman stopped in front of the booth and Belle smiled brightly at her. "Would you like to buy a candle?"

"No, I would _not_," the woman snapped. "I know that _harlot _is the one running this booth and over my dead body will I buy a candle from the likes of her!" The woman opened her mouth again, ready to say more vicious things, no doubt. But quite suddenly, all the lights went out, leaving them in complete darkness.

Belle smiled widely. "How about now?" she asked the woman, who was now looking absolutely gobsmacked. The blackout forced the whole town to change their mind about the candles. The woman who had so vehemently turned down the candle before sheepishly handed over the couple of dollars needed to purchase one.

Mary Margaret and Leroy came running up to the booth just as the flow of customers started to pick up. "Just in time!" Belle said in relief. "I wasn't going to be able to do this by myself!"

"No time for talking, sister!" Leroy said as he hurriedly started unpacking more boxes and taking money from the customers. "Just keep on selling!"

Belle nodded and continued trading money and candles at a furious pace. With the lights gone out and the festival being plunged into darkness, everyone was coming to them. The festival was being transformed around her as the glow of the candles lit up the square. It looked…magical. Truly and wonderfully magical.

Leroy, Mary Margaret, and Belle kept selling candles until they began to look around and kept coming up with empty boxes.

"We sold out!" Mary Margaret said triumphantly. Leroy laughed joyfully and hugged Mary Margaret tightly, lifting her off the ground. Then he turned to Belle and did the same to her.

"We did it!" Belle said excitedly.

"You bet we did, sister!" Leroy patted her on the back a few times before spotting Sister Astrid across the way, laughing and smiling, her spirits lifted.

"Go to her," Belle urged. "Give her the good news."

Leroy looked hesitant. "Have your moment," Mary Margaret insisted. It took a few more moments for Leroy to gather up all his courage, but he did and he grabbed the cashbox to take over to Astrid. "Go enjoy the festival," Mary Margaret told her. "I'll finish up here." She leaned in closer. "You may want to look over by the street. Mr. Gold's been waiting there for a while now.

Belle blinked in surprise and turned around, craning her neck to see past the crowd. Sure enough, Gold's car was parked on the curb, with the man himself leaning on the passenger side. Oh, that man. Would he ever stop being a mystery?

Belle took her candle from the table and started making her way through the crowd toward him. Maybe it was just her imagination, but people seemed to be warming up to her. Instead of scathing looks, warm smiles were sent her way.

She stopped in front of Gold. The two were well away from the crowd.

"I thought you didn't like nuns," Belle said. Gold didn't look remorseful at all.

"I don't," he replied. "But it seems like you got your wish anyway, despite my unwillingness to help out." Gold sighed. "I didn't like that you left angry," he admitted.

Belle shook her head. "I wasn't angry. I was disappointed more than anything. Despite what you think and what others might say, you're a good man deep down. It wouldn't kill you to show it every once in a while."

"I don't like disappointing you," Gold admitted quietly. Not having to think twice about it, Belle reached forward and grabbed his hand. He stared at her with wide eyes, startled at the contact.

"I know," she told him. This was his way of apologizing, he was just too afraid to say so. "This was just a onetime thing."

"I'm bound to disappoint you again," he insisted.

"Well we'll have to work on that, won't we?" said Belle. She let go of his hand and blew out her candle. "How about we go home, Robert?" she suggested.

Confused did not begin to describe the look that crossed Gold's face. "You're not going to ask me _why _I don't like the nuns?" he asked.

Belle shook her head. "Even if we knew each other before I was locked up, I feel as if I've only known you for this past week I've been staying with you. I do want to know what all this animosity is about, but…I don't think I should push the issue. When you're ready to talk I'll be right here."

Gold smiled at her. "You're the only person I know who would want to talk with this old monster," he said.

"How many times do I have to say it before you believe me? You are _not _a monster," Belle insisted.

Gold opened the passenger side door for her. "Just keep reminding me, dearie. Maybe one day I'll actually believe it."

* * *

**Wow...that episode Sunday. Who wants to bet that Gold is going to kick himself for how his last encounter with his son ended once he finds out what happened to him? Also, if Belle finally gets her memories back next episode (and I really hope she does) how mad at Rumple do you think she's going to be? Although, they'll probably be too busy worrying they're going to die for her to stay mad. But they'll live and she'll spend the beginning of the next season being angry with him.**

**A little fluff mixed with a little conflict! Yes, Gold has been sweet to Belle, but he still has that darkness lurking in him that rears its ugly head every so often. Having a little spat like this was bound to happen.**

**Thanks for reading! Don't forget to review!**


	8. Chapter 8

Belle nearly laughed at the dumbstruck look on Gold's face as he came into the kitchen. She had been promising to make him dinner for the past few days. It just so happened that today was the day she decided to make good on that promise.

She'd been practicing cooking ever since she first started to live here. That first day she had baked peanut butter cookies with Mary Margaret. Belle mostly just helped then, being cautious and wary of all the appliances that were simultaneously familiar and unfamiliar to her.

Belle learned her way around the kitchen pretty quickly while helping Gold cook dinner. She started off simply enough: she'd stir something, set a timer, watch to make sure the water didn't boil over. But she had quickly been taking on more of the demanding tasks. Soon it was Gold that stood off to the side, rarely interfering while she chopped and sautéed vegetables and flipped the meat in the pan and mixed the spices and seasonings.

"What's all this?" Gold asked her. He still had that dumbfounded expression on his face. Belle smiled brightly at him.

"Dinner," she replied, waving her hand over the table. "Granny let me look through one of her cookbooks. I decided to go with a pasta recipe. It seemed like the easiest one to try." Belle twirled a curl around her finger nervously. "I'm not entirely confident in my cooking skills yet so I thought I'd try something easy that I was less likely to ruin."

"It looks wonderful, dearie," Gold assured her. He walked to the table and sat down in his usual chair and began to fill his plate. Belle watched him nervously as he twirled the pasta around his fork and took the first bite. He chewed slowly, looking thoughtful, before smiling and nodding. Belle let out a breath she hadn't even known she'd been holding in relief.

"You like it?" Belle asked cautiously as she took her seat.

"Of course I do," Gold said immediately, brushing away the last of her anxiety. "You could open up your own restaurant with just this dish and put Granny's out of business."

"Now you're just exaggerating," Belle teased. She twirled the pasta around her own fork and took a bite.

"You don't have to do this for me, you know," Gold said. "You're a guest, not a personal chef."

"I don't want to just sit around and do nothing," Belle insisted. "I can't take advantage of your hospitality like that. If I'm staying here in your home I want to help in any way I can." She smiled at him. "Besides, I needed a way to thank you and cooking dinner seemed to be just the way to do that."

"You've been telling me thank you nearly every day since you came here," Gold pointed out.

Belle laughed. "No, I didn't mean that. Although I am still very thankful for everything you've done for me; everything you're _still _doing for me. This dinner is specifically to thank you for helping Mary Margaret. For being her lawyer." She smiled warmly at Gold, who looked down at his plate.

"It's too early to thank me," he said. "I only said I'd be her lawyer. I haven't won her case yet."

_"Yet," _Belle emphasized. "I have faith in you. I know you'll do your best for Mary Margaret. I'm just happy that you're helping my friend."

Gold nodded and said "You're welcome." They both continued eating their dinner, chatting idly to one another. Belle remained blissfully unaware that Mary Margaret's jail cell was empty, that she might not return to it before morning, and that said client was currently being held captive in a desperate man's house.

* * *

Emma could feel her heart pound against her chest, threatening to break through, as she looked at this mad man square in the eye. "Why have you been spying on me?" she asked.

The man began to circle around to the other side of the table. "Because for the last twenty-eight years I've been stuck in this house. Day after day. Always the same. Until one night _you_," he pointed at her with the gun, "and your little Bug roll into town and the clock ticks and things start to change. You see…I know what you refuse to acknowledge Emma."

He said this as if he carried the biggest and most precious secret in the world. Tentatively, Emma took one small step closer. "You're special," the mad man said. "You brought something precious to Storybrooke. Magic."

Emma swallowed thickly. It was one thing for Henry to believe in fairy tales. He was just a kid after all. But the man in front of her was an adult and he was taking his obsession with fairy tales too far.

"You're insane," Emma said quietly.

Clearly, this wasn't the reaction the man had been expecting or hoping for. "Because I speak the truth?"

"Because you're talking about _magic_."

"I'm talking about what I've seen," the man corrected. "Perhaps _you're _the one who's mad." If the situation weren't so serious, Emma would have laughed in his face. She and her best friend were tied up in a mansion on the outskirts of town where a man drugged and spied on people. Of _course, _she was the one who was mad!

Emma chose to forgo the sarcasm and instead chose to respond with a skeptical "Really?"

"What's crazier than seeing and not believing? Because that's _exactly _what you've been doing since you got to our little hamlet." He stepped close to her, invading her personal space. "Open your eyes. Look around. Wake up. Isn't it about time?"

Trying to sneak past him hadn't worked earlier. Maybe if she played nice and didn't aggravate the crazy person, she could get herself and Mary Margaret out of there. "What do you want?" she asked.

"I want you to get it to work," said the man. He grabbed Emma roughly and shoved her down in the chair at his work table.

"You want me to get _what _to work?" Emma asked. The man said nothing in response and Emma's eyes fell on the hat on the table, still a work in progress. What was with this guy and hats?

He leaned in close, speaking in her ear. "You're the only one that can do this," he said. He rested his chin on her head. "You're going to get it to work." Thankfully he left her side, but only briefly. He returned moments later with some fabric that he dropped on to the table in front of her.

"Make one like that," he ordered, pointing to the hat on the table.

"You want me to make a hat?" Emma asked slowly. "You don't have enough?"

"Well none of them _work, _do they?" the man said as he walked around to the other side of the table. "Or else _you _wouldn't be here. Now make a hat and get it to work." He sat down in a chair of his own. Emma began to protest but he cut her off. "You have magic. You can do it."

Emma happened to glance up and see the tea set that he had used. _No, _she thought as she looked at the display of hats behind her. _It couldn't be!_

"The hats," Emma said. "The tea. Your psychotic behavior. You think you're the Mad Hatter!"

The man shifted in his seat. "My name's Jefferson." Great, now the crazy had a name.

"Okay," Emma said, putting down the scissors and the fabric. "You've _clearly _glommed on to my kid Henry's thing. They're just stories. The Mad Hatter is in _Alice in Wonderland_. A book! A book I actually read!"

"Stories!" Jefferson scoffed. "Stories! What's a story? When you were in high school did you learn about the Civil War?"

"Yeah, of course," Emma agreed, not quite sure where his logic was taking this.

"How? Did you read about it, perchance, in a book? How's that any less real than any other book?"

Emma rubbed her head. "History books are based on _history_," she said. Never did she think she'd have to explain that to anybody.

"And storybooks are based on what? Imagination?" he said as if that was the most ridiculous notion in the world. "Where's that come from? It has to come from somewhere. Just like the story of you being the savior: the one to break the curse that's keeping everyone trapped here. I've been patient with you, Emma…after twenty-eight years, what's one more day, right? But you've refused to believe and the curse remains unbroken. I even tried to help you by smoking out Regina's favorite chess piece."

Emma blinked in surprise. "Smoked out?" she repeated.

Jefferson sighed, closing his eyes. "Such a shame that the little beauty fell in love with the beast. They could have been very happy together if not for Queen Regina being his _bitterest _enemy. She kept the beauty locked away for _years_. Alive, but not really living. She was saving her for when she was most useful. Kept her alive so she could die later."

"You started the fire at the hospital!" Emma said. It wasn't a question. Jefferson smirked.

"You're welcome," he said, doing a little mock bow from his chair.

"Why would I thank you for that?" Emma demanded. "People could have died!"

"But they didn't," Jefferson reminded her. "And now you have a powerful ally. Now that the beast's little beauty is under his protection once again, he's never going to let her go and Regina will _burn_."

Emma could not believe what she was hearing. Worst of all, she couldn't really arrest him for this. If she did, the truth would come out about Mary Margaret running away from her jail cell. "You're talking about Belle, right? The woman staying with Mr. Gold? Regina locked her up and lied about her death just to…what? Piss him off."

"To _break_ him," Jefferson corrected. "It's what Regina does best. She breaks people. Makes them into former shadows of what they used to be. Of course," he laughed, "the beast does that just as well, but he won't be doing that anymore. Not with his beauty watching."

Jefferson leaned in closer to Emma. "You know what the issue is to this world? Everyone wants a magical solution to their problem and everyone refuses to believe in magic. Now get it to work," Jefferson demanded, pointing the gun at the table.

"Here's the thing Jefferson," Emma began to explain. "This is it," she said gesturing around her. "This is the real world."

"_A _real world," Jefferson corrected. "How arrogant are you to think yours is the only one?" He was leaning on the table now. "There are infinite more. You have to open your mind. They touch one another, pressing up in a long line of lands, each just as real as the last. All have their own rules. Some have magic, some don't, and some _need _magic. Like this one." He straightened up and pointed a rather large pair of scissors at her. "And that's where you come in. You and your friend are not leaving here until you _make. My. Hat! _Until you get it to work." He dropped the scissors back on the table and sat back down in his chair.

"And then what?" Emma asked.

"And then I go home," Jefferson said ominously.

While Emma had taken history in high school, she was even more grateful now that she had been forced to take art and home economics. As useless as she thought the classes were back then, she never could have predicted that she'd be using the skills learned then to escape a life or death situation now.

* * *

Regina was feeling on top of the world this morning. Her little Snow White problem had been dealt with. Although they had gotten off on the wrong foot the week before, she had managed to strike a deal with Rumplestiltskin that was beneficial to the both of them.

One of her skeleton keys was planted in Mary Margaret's cell and the evidence piled up against her at an alarming rate. Anybody would have been tempted to head for the hills. Or, in this case, the town line, and she knew better than anybody that bad things happened to people who tried.

She smiled when she spotted the empty Sheriff's space. Of course Emma Swan would be out looking for her friend, trying to help a fugitive. She'd finally have her job for this and there was nothing she could do about it. Not even Rumplestiltskin could get her out of this mess.

Regina's shoes clacked against the floor as she made her way down the hall to the empty jail cell. Oh, her victory would be sweet and she'd never have to worry about Snow White ever again.

She walked into the room. She froze in her tracks as she came crashing down from cloud nine.

Mary Margaret was in her cell reading the paper.

This wasn't supposed to happen! She was supposed to run! She should be _dead _by now!

"Madam Mayor," Mary Margaret acknowledged.

Regina swallowed. "Good morning," she managed.

"Excuse me," said Mr. Gold, stepping in front of her, "but my client is not having any visitors."

"Of _course _not," Regina said hoarsely.

Mr. Gold began to usher her out of the room. "I'll see you out," he said. Slowly, she turned and began to walk away. She could feel Mary Margaret's eyes on them and she could ehar that blasted cane tapping away as he followed her.

Regina waited until they were well out of earshot before turning back angrily to face the imp.

"What is she doing here?" she demanded.

"She came back," Gold said simply.

"You _said _this was going to work! That she'd take the key; that she'd _go_," Regina growled.

"And she did. But it seems that Miss Swan is rather more resourceful than we thought. Fear not, your majesty. Miss Blanchard's still guilty of murder. You may yet get what you want," Gold assured her, smirking.

"Oh, I better," Regina warned. "The only reason I made this deal with you, Gold, is because I wanted results."

"And results you shall have," Gold promised. "See you in the arraignment."

Their tense standoff was interrupted by the clacking of heels coming toward them and then an absurdly cheery voice for this early in the morning. "There you are!" the voice called out. Regina felt herself go rigid. She _knew _that voice. "I bought some pastries from Granny's. I thought Mary Margaret might…like…them…" Belle trailed off into nervous silence when Regina turned to face her. She was looking at her with wide, frightened eyes.

If it hadn't been for her chat with Gold the week before, she might have taken advantage of such fear. But even as the thought came to her, she felt her jaw clench and her tongue stick. His _pleases _certainly packed a punch.

Fuming, Regina stormed from the building. This was _her _town and things _would _go down her way or there would be hell to pay.

* * *

**Jefferson started the fire! I think one person guessed it was him and they were right! Regina's back, it only took her five chapters to return. She'll be in this story a little more now.**

**I'm working on another AU story, but it won't be posted until this story is either all the way done or very nearly done. But keep an eye out for it, because it will be Rumbelle.**

**Thoughts on season finale (SPOILERS IF YOU HAVE YET TO SEE IT)**

**1. Belle. Her memory is back! I am SO happy! That was quite a beautiful and emotional reunion for the two of them.**

**2. Chip is back! I think all of our hearts broke when it looked like they killed off Chip, but he's finally back.**

**3. Seriously...she finally got her memory back and they're being separated. But it's so Rumple can find his grandson, so that's okay. Although I hope that they'll only be separated for the first nine or ten episodes of season three. Kind of like how Snow and Emma were back in Storybrooke by the end of episode nine in season two.**

**4. I love Mulan, Aurora, and Phillip. PHILLIP! He is BACK! YES! I'm looking forward to the episode that explains how they got his soul back. But we probably have a long wait. But I am so happy that these three are back because I love them.**

**Anyway, thanks for reading, don't forget to review!**


	9. Chapter 9

_Two Weeks Ago_

Regina sat at her desk, trying to do paperwork. Trying being the key word. The amount of work she had gotten done since coming in that morning had been pitiful at best. She was too on edge and too busy scheming.

She had been spending some time with Henry yesterday at the house. Keeping him away from his birth mother was for the best, even if Henry couldn't understand why. She had helped him with his homework and watched a movie with him before making dinner. As a special treat, Regina had bought a bag of chocolate chips from the store and they began to make chocolate chip cookies together after dinner.

She had just pulled them out of the oven when the house phone began to ring. Henry answered it for her but held out the phone to her a few moments later. "It's Sidney Glass. He said something about a fire?"

"Thank you, Henry," Regina said, quickly taking the phone from him. "What fire?" Regina demanded. "At the hospital?! Why was I not informed of this sooner? I _am _the mayor of this town and when there is a crisis it is my job to be there. You do understand this, Sydney, don't you? Because your tardiness with this phone call would suggest otherwise."

Regina covered her hand over the mouthpiece and turned to Henry. "Why don't you go get your PJ's on?" she suggested. Henry didn't need to be told twice and left the room. Although she didn't know he stopped to eavesdrop right outside the room.

"I don't care if you were volunteering to help the infirm!" Regina snapped into the receiver. "Your incompetence astounds me. You're not being very useful to me Sydney. And you know what I do with things that are no longer useful to me," she threatened. "Now I want all the details you have about the fire right now. I'll talk with the _Sheriff _later and see what her half-assed report is."

Regina let out a long breath and rapped her nails against the counter as Sydney quickly told her as much as she could. When he told her that the fire had started in the basement, she was a little shocked, but she still smirked, pleased. The fire may have taken care of a few of her prisoners. Then she became angry, when she remembered Belle had been in the basement. Losing such a valuable chess piece, such an enticing piece of bait to hold over Rumplestiltskin was a great loss indeed.

Then Sydney told her that everyone in the hospital got out alive (it took her a minute to remember that she was supposed to act happy about that-like she actually cared about them) and everyone had been evacuated out of the basement.

"Wait, _what?!_ What did you just say?!" Regina demanded. "Are you _sure _they were all evacuated? All of them?" she asked. Sydney confirmed this over the phone. "Give me a _number_. How many patients were evacuated from the basement?"

Any hopes of Belle somehow being left in the basement to burn were shattered when Sydney confirmed the right number of people had been rescued from the basement.

"Where are they?" Regina growled. She needed to get this situation under control before certain people found out of Belle's continued existence. "Well, what do you know, Sydney? You may have just proved your worth to me. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to take care of this problem before it gets out of my control."

She hit the End button on the phone and then slammed the phone down onto the kitchen counter. This was supposed to be a good day and then this situation reared its ugly head.

She breathed in an out, trying and failing to calm herself. She would be calm when Belle was locked away again. She'd go collect her from Dr. Hopper's office and then call Sheriff Swan. The sooner she was locked back up and hidden away, the better.

"Henry?" Regina called out. Henry didn't answer. She left the kitchen and went to the bottom of the stairs. "Henry?" she called again, louder this time. Henry finally emerged from his room in his pajamas.

"Yeah?" he said. Regina smiled up at him.

"I have to run into town for a little bit," she explained as she made her way up the stairs to him. "I'll be back soon. You can have a couple of cookies but then I want you to brush your teeth and go straight to bed. You understand?" Henry nodded. "Good." She hugged him tightly. "Keep the door locked," she implored. "Good night, sweetie."

"Good night, mom!" Henry called to her retreating back. Regina locked the front door behind her and stormed off to her car. She more than broke the speed limit in her haste to get to Doctor Hopper's office, but she was sure that Emma Swan was still busy dealing with the aftermath of the fire and she wouldn't be bothering her with trivial things like speed limits.

Regina ignored her other prisoners and the nurses that sat with them. Belle was not among this group so she must be in the office with Doctor Hopper. She burst into the room, making Doctor Hopper and the patient on the couch flinch. Regina nearly snarled at the sight.

Belle wasn't here.

"Mayor Mills, this is highly inappropriate," the former cricket protested. His stammer was only slight. This was his domain, and he therefore felt like he had more say and more control over what happened within these walls. Regina shut the door firmly behind her.

"I don't care," she sneered. She began to pace back and forth angrily with her hands place firmly on her hips.

"We're almost done," Doctor Hopper told her. "If you could just wait a few minutes-"

Oh, no. _She _was the Mayor. _She _did not do waiting. "I don't want to wait a few minutes!" Regina snapped. She had been thinking of what to say since she hung up the phone. Just a few lies, and she'd have Belle locked away again.

"I'm looking for someone," she explained, "one of the patients from the fire today. I was told that a…_certain group _was brought to you for evaluation and she was among them. She's dangerous and a menace to society at large. Delusional, unresponsive, prone to violent outbursts. To put it simply: she needs to be locked away."

Regina got some satisfaction from seeing Doctor Hopper swallow thickly. "Could you describe her? Physically, I mean," he added when he saw the look on her face.

Regina huffed. It was like he was trying to annoy her on _purpose._ "A woman with long, curly brown hair, blue eyes, pale, short, somewhere between her late twenties and early thirties. Ring any bells?" Any other day, she might have laughed at her own little pun.

Archie nodded. "Yes. I did see her earlier today and I must say she is nothing like you described." Regina glared at him. It wasn't his place to sound so skeptical of her. That was not how this curse worked.

"I didn't ask for your personal opinion of her!" she snapped. "I just want to know where she is!"

"She's being taken care of," Archie said assuredly. Then he looked at her, _really _looked at her. He had that psychologist look on his face, wanting to see if her emotions betrayed what she said next. "Mr. Gold is watching out for her."

Ice ran through Regina's veins at those words. Rumplestiltskin had already found out about her. He knew that she had lied. He had his little Belle back in his castle yet again.

She chose not to say anything and simply left Doctor Hopper's office. Regina knew her old teacher well and she knew that he'd be coming to speak to her.

So that was how she found herself at her office much earlier than usual, trying to do work but not getting it done, wondering if and when she should try and initiate her Plan B for Belle, and waiting for Rumplestiltskin to make his appearance.

She had been listening out for the cane, but the imp had been silent and determined to make an entrance.

"Hard at work, I see…dearie," he said. Rumplestiltskin was the only one able to make the Evil Queen jump with surprise. He wasn't smiling today and his eyes were cold with anger.

"I knew you'd be here," Regina said simply. She put down her pen. "Thought I might as well get some work done while I wait."

Mr. Gold stepped into the office and shut the door behind him. This was not a conversation to risk being interrupted. "I suppose you know by now what brought me here," he reasoned. He gave a sarcastic little laugh and began to slowly approach her desk. "Or rather, _who _brought me here."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Gold, you'll have to enlighten me."

Gold's eyes flashed dangerously. "Now is _not _the time to be playing games with me, dearie," he warned. He took another step closer to her desk. "You know who I'm talking about. Belle. Is. _Alive_."

Gold was drawing ever closer to the desk. Regina held up her hands. "I could have killed her, but I didn't," she reminded him.

"Oh, no, you did much worse than that," he growled. "You kept her alive so you could kill her _later_. A fate worse than death, I should think. You kept her locked away in an asylum for twenty-eight years just on the off chance you could use her against me. Well I hate to break it to you, _your majesty_, but Belle is no longer your chess piece. She is under _my _protection."

Regina folded her hands in front of her. "She may be under your protection, but this is still my town. _You _gave the curse to me and I know it inside and out. I had thought of a much different fate to befall your little maid. She was to be a frequent patron of _The Rabbit Hole_: never without a drink in one hand and a pool cue in the other, perpetually buzzed, and I do believe a certain Sherriff of Nottingham likes to frequent that establishment as well. I changed a lot of things about everyone when I cast this curse, but I couldn't change the fact that that man is still _quite _the ladies man." Regina paused thoughtfully.

Mr. Gold was seething at the mention of the former Sheriff. Regina had heard of the incident where the infamous Dark One defended the honor of his wench in the most unusual manner.

"Of course, his means for acquiring them is still less than favorable," Regina added. "I took a different route with Belle, however. Her _other _identity was put on the back burner and I never expected to use it. But it's always good to have a back-up plan, I think. I can change her memories and everyone's memories of her in an instant."

"You will do _no such thing,_" Gold growled. "Belle is under _my _protection and you are not to interfere with that…_please,_" he added. Immediately, any thoughts of bringing harm to Belle were banished from her mind by force. Gold smirked when he saw her change in expression. He leaned forward, both hands on his cane in front of him. "You are to _please _not trigger any false memories, enact any back up plans you may have, or interfere with the life she is building for herself here at any time. You are not to harm her in any way..._please._ Also _please _refrain from speaking to her; not a single word. Do we understand each other, _your majesty?_" he spat.

Slowly, Regina nodded. "Good. Now that we understand each other, I'm going to need your help with something."

Regina scoffed. "Why would I help you?" she asked. Gold ignored her and went over to her bowl of apples. "You come in here and threaten me and you expect me to help you? No, this is just some trick to get revenge now that you know what I did to your girlfriend."

"Well I have her back now and I just made sure that nothing will happen to her," he pointed out. He plucked an apple from the bowl and tossed it in the air before catching it again. "I love that _please _clause I came up with," he remarked.

"The reason you're going to help me is because favors must be returned with favors. I'm going to help you just as much as you're going to help me." Gold sat down in the chair across from Regina. She narrowed her eyes at him.

"What do you want?" she demanded.

"As you very well know, I have battery charges against me pending." Regina nodded. That had been her handiwork. False memories gave Moe a clear reason for why Mr. Gold would attack him and the woman he had been yelling about-Mr. Gold had these false memories, too before he woke up from the curse-but the memories that fueled the pawnbroker were very real and very painful. "And I really don't relish the thought of spending any more time locked up in a cage. Someone with _your _influence can make the D.A. suddenly realize what a flimsy case they have. Isn't that right, your majesty?"

Regina crossed her arms over her chest. "What would _I _get out of this? Why should I help _you?"_

Gold leaned in closer. "I can help you with your Mary Margaret problem," he told her. Now he had her interest. "You see, I've noticed no matter how hard you try to stop them she and her…_charming _friend keep finding ways to be together."

Mary Margaret _was _just as annoyingly persistent in this world as a schoolteacher as she had been in their old world as a runaway princess. "What are you suggesting?" she asked.

"If you want to inflict pain," Gold said, putting the apple down on the desk in front of him, "then you must inflict pain. If something…tragic were to happen to David's wife…and if Mary Margaret were to take the blame."

Regina was blown away by the brilliance of this plan. Why had she not thought of it herself? "She'd be ruined!"

"And you'd have your victory at last."

"A trial could be very messy."

"A trial?" Gold repeated. "Who said anything about a trial?" He shook his head. "No, once Miss Blanchard has been incarcerated, you can plant one of your lovely skeleton keys in her cell. And once she tries to leave Storybrooke, well…" Gold smiled. "We both know what happens to people who attempt to leave town."

Regina was still hesitant. This could easily be a trap, it most likely _was _a trap, but Gold needed a favor, and when he wanted something, he would give back equally in return. Still, she had to ask "Why should I trust you?"

Gold stood up and picked the apple back up again. "Because I _always _honor my agreements." He tossed the apple to Regina, who caught it easily. "Do we have a deal?"

Regina smiled. "Deal," she agreed.

* * *

_Present Day_

Belle ascended the spiral staircase, not entirely sure what was at the top. She hadn't remembered seeing this staircase before. It was like it had appeared out of nowhere. What kind of place was this where rooms could just appear overnight?

Belle gasped aloud when she saw all the books. This whole room was filled with them from ceiling to floor.

"_It's beautiful," _she said aloud. _"There are more books in here then I could read in a lifetime." _She noticed the little loveseat in the middle of the room with a book sitting there, waiting for her, calling to her.

Eagerly, she sat down and picked up the book, flipping it open to where she had left her bookmark. She began to read.

She _tried _to read.

The words and letters didn't form properly or make sense to her. She blinked a few times and the words disappeared altogether. Frustrated, she tossed the book aside and stretched out on the loveseat, staring up at the round ceiling.

Belle blinked a few times, confused. Surely, it was just a trick of her mind and the ceiling wasn't _really _spinning, was it?

But it kept on spinning faster and faster.

Belle sat up quickly. The walls were spinning, too. The only thing staying still was the floor. She looked around to where the stairs were, but they were gone. She was stuck in this strange spinning room with bookshelves and windows spinning around her.

One of the windows shattered and knights dressed all in black charged into the room, wielding swords, bows, and shields. They ran straight across the room and passed through the spinning walls as if they didn't even exist, disappearing from sight.

The knights were followed by a team of black horses pulling an ornate black carriage and again, they all disappeared through the wall as if it wasn't there.

One more black horse came through the window. This time it had a rider.

Slowly, the room stopped spinning as the horse and rider slowly walked over to her. Light fell across the woman's face and Belle gasped.

It was her. The woman who came to visit her in her cell. The woman she saw at the Sheriff's station.

_Why _was she here in her dreams?

Or was this now a nightmare.

The woman smiled coldly at her. "Still fighting to the _bitter end, _I see. Aren't you a determined little pawn?" The woman threw her head back and started laughing. Ice ran through Belle's veins at the sound of her voice.

She happened to look behind her and noticed a door where there had been a bookshelf before. Without thinking twice, Belle hurried through it, leaving the laughing woman behind.

Belle found herself in that same long hall again. Like before, it was completely devoid of any presence except for her, it was completely dark except for the moonlight that came in through the windows, and all was absolutely silent and still except for that spinning wheel in the corner that creaked occasionally as it was spun around and around by some unseen force.

She approached the spinning wheel again, feeling comforted by its presence whereas her previous dreams about it had always left her wary.

Belle sat down on the seat in front of the wheel and watched it spin away.

"_Why do you spin so much?" _she asked aloud.

_I like to watch the wheel. _The disembodied voice echoed through the hall, but its volume was much louder than it had been in previous dreams. _Helps me forget._

"_Forget what?"_

And then she woke up.

Belle sighed, frustrated. Would she never get an answer to that question? She rolled back over and attempted to go back to sleep. However, sleep eluded her and after a few unsuccessful attempts she sat up and pushed the covers off of her. Apparently her subconscious decided that half past two in the morning was a _wonderful _time to have that dream.

Quietly, she tip-toed down the stairs to the kitchen. If she couldn't get to sleep on her own, then maybe a cup of tea would help. She filled the tea kettle with water and set it on the stove to heat up.

As she moved about the kitchen as quietly as she could, getting a cup and the cream and sugar, she idly wondered if she should invest in one of those dream interpretation books. She quickly dismissed the idea. It seemed silly to give her dreams more meaning than they probably had, even if that spinning wheel did seem really important. But why would it be important? What was its significance? Why did she wonder so much about it?

After all, it _was _just a spinning wheel, wasn't it?

But that cup turned out to be more than just a cup.

Nothing seemed to be _just _anything, did it?

Her thoughts were interrupted by the whistling of the tea kettle. _Damn, damn, damn! _How long had it been going off? She was supposed to pay attention so as not to wake Robert.

Quickly, she grabbed a towel and lifted the tea kettle off the stove. She winced as she heard his cane tapping, drawing closer. Too late, she had woken him.

He came into the kitchen, a dressing gown covering his pajamas. Belle blushed as she remembered that she hadn't even bothered with her dressing gown and was currently standing in his kitchen in just her nightgown.

"What are you doing up at this hour?" he asked, yawning. It made Belle feel that much worse for waking him. Honestly, he had a job, a business to run, and she was disturbing his sleep.

"I'm sorry," she apologized. "I woke up from this rather…odd dream and I had trouble getting back to sleep. I thought tea might help."

Robert nodded. "Well in that case, let me get the tea pot," he decided. "I was having a little trouble sleeping myself, to be honest."

Belle had a feeling he was lying to spare her feelings, but decided to say nothing about it. "I thought you'd be sleeping like a rock," she admitted. He set down the teapot and began to spoon tea leaves into the built in infuser. "What with your case being done and all. You don't have to worry or stress about it anymore and you can have a few relaxing moments to yourself."

"The relaxing isn't over yet, dearie," he said, taking the tea kettle from her. He began to pour the hot water into the teapot. "After all, there is Mary Margaret's party tomorrow evening." He glanced at the clock. "Or _this _evening, I should say," he amended.

Despite feeling bad about waking him up at such an ungodly hour, Belle laughed. And despite the tiredness on his face, Robert smiled.

"So may I ask what you were dreaming about that has you unable to get back to sleep?" he asked.

Belle smiled, resting her elbow on the kitchen counter, cupping her face with her hand. "You may," she allowed.

Robert waited, expectantly, but Belle said nothing. "Are you going to tell me?" he prompted.

Belle's smile grew wider. "You asked if you could ask. I didn't say I would _tell _you."

Robert blinked in surprise and then laughed. Belle laughed with him. "With your way with words, I'll make a lawyer out of you yet," he observed.

Belle scrunched her nose and shook her head. "I think I'll leave the lawyer business to you," she said, placing her hand over his. "It's a little too messy for me."

Robert just smiled at her. Belle realized after several long moments of the two of them just standing there and smiling at each other that her hand was still holding his. She let go of it, a little reluctantly (although she wasn't sure why), and smoothed down her nightgown.

"I should get you a mug, too," Belle realized, turning toward the cabinets.

"Do you want to talk to Doctor Hopper about it?" Robert asked. "Your dream, I mean."

Belle shook her head and grabbed a mug. "It's nothing," she said. "It's basically the same dream I've had since I was in the hospital but lately it's become more…detailed."

"Do tell," Robert said. "That is, only if you want to." He poured some tea into her mug and made her tea just how she liked it (cream and two sugars).

Belle stirred her tea around her cup, thinking about what she should say. She had already told Robert of her suspicions that the woman she saw at the station (Regina, he had told her. The mayor of the town and an eternal thorn in his side) was the same woman who visited her cell and laughed at her (and possibly locked her away in there as well). She didn't need to worry him farther by telling him that she was now haunting her dreams as well.

"It's nothing special," she said, shrugging. She sipped at her tea. "Just this…wheel." Robert coughed and Belle became worried. "Are you okay?" she asked.

He nodded. "The tea…it went down the wrong pipe," he gasped. Smiling sympathetically, Belle reached over and patted his back. He cleared his throat again before giving her his full attention.

"You were saying something about a wheel?" Robert prompted.

Belle shook her head. "It's nothing terribly important. It just sits in the corner of this big room and it spins all by itself. It's a terribly boring dream, I know," she laughed nervously when Robert said nothing.

"An invisible man spinning a wheel? I'd say that's rather interesting," he countered.

"Who said it was a man?" Isabelle asked teasingly. "It could just as easily be an invisible woman."

Robert smiled over the top of his mug. "My apologies, dearie," he said before taking another sip of his tea. They both sat together for a long while, drinking their tea in silence and enjoying each other's company. Belle could feel her eyes slowly becoming heavy. The tea was having the desired effect on her.

"I've noticed that you've been looking at a lot of my travel books lately," Robert remarked casually. Belle nodded.

"I love reading about all the different places," she commented. "They all have such interesting histories. Did you know that the mortar for the bricks of the walls of the Forbidden City was made from egg whites and sticky rice? Or that a Mayan king was buried inside of a pyramid and his tomb wasn't discovered until the mid-twentieth century? Or that the Philippine island of Luzon contains a lake, which contains an island, which contains a lake, which contains an island?"

Robert shook his head. "No, I did not know any of that," he admitted.

Belle smiled. "I like reading about all these places."

"Yes, yes, I know. But I can't help but think that maybe you might enjoy these places better if you could see them for yourself."

Belle nodded. "Yes, I would, but…" she trailed off when she saw the look on Robert's face. "Are…are you suggesting that we…"

"Go on a vacation?" he finished for her. "Actually, yes, I was."

Belle blinked in surprise. "Seriously?" she asked.

"As a heart attack," he promised. "Now why don't you go back upstairs and get some sleep and then tomorrow you can start looking through those books and pick out somewhere you want to go. Anywhere that strikes your fancy, we'll go there."

"Anywhere?" Belle echoed.

"The sky's the limit," Robert said. He paused thoughtfully. "Well, maybe not the _sky. _I can afford to take us anywhere, but the moon is just a _little _bit out of my price range-_oof!_" He grunted when Belle suddenly threw her arms around his neck and hugged him. Surprised, but not at all unpleased, he wrapped his arms around Belle's waist.

"Thank you!" she whispered, laughing. "Thank you!"

Robert rested his cheek against her head. "You're welcome, Belle," he whispered back. He chased her away from the kitchen, not letting her help with clean up and insisting she go back to bed.

Belle climbed back down under the covers, happy and content, thinking about waterfalls, forbidden cities, pyramids, statues, and islands. Other thoughts bubbled up to the surface, banishing these other images.

Like how Robert's face lit up and softened and his eyes crinkled when he smiled at her.

How sometimes when his voice got low and his brogue grew thick it sent shivers down her spine.

How his hand felt when she had held it tonight.

How warm he was when she hugged him and how she was able to breathe in his scent whenever they were that close. Her clothes would sometimes carry around his scent long after she had parted from him.

Before sleep claimed Belle again, she wondered if she would sleep better or worse if he was right here beside her.

* * *

**This chapter kind of got away from me. I originally planned for more to happen in this chapter, but just these two parts kind of grew on their own and I decided to cut it off before it got too big.**

**Anyway, thanks for reading, and don't forget to review!**


	10. Chapter 10

"Any luck on the job hunt?" Ruby asked. Belle was spending time with her friend that day since things were slow in both in the diner and the inn. They were stowing away the freshly folded linens in the linen closet.

Belle shook her head. "No, not so far," she sighed. "I've been doing volunteer work at the animal shelter. Thought I'd take off of that for today."

Ruby winced, knowing full well why Belle wasn't volunteering at the shelter that day. Things were bound to be awkward with David's wife suddenly showing up alive and (mostly) well and Mary Margaret recently vindicated.

"Yikes!" Ruby said, shuddering. "I'm not going to feel too sorry for him, though. Doesn't deserve it."

Belle chose to say nothing and remain a neutral party.

"You could always ask Emma if you could be deputy," Ruby suggested. "Maybe you'll take better to it than I did."

Belle shook her head. "I think I'd rather read crime dramas than be at a crime scene," she said.

"Yeah, tell me about it. My hands are still shaking from when I found Kathryn in the alley. Look!" She held her hands out to Belle, who couldn't really detect any noticeable tremors. She just nodded empathetically.

"Is Mr. Gold really coming to the party tonight?" Ruby asked.

"Of course he is!" Belle answered immediately. "He was Mary Margaret's lawyer. Why wouldn't he?"

Ruby gave her a look. "Because the beast is a rather reclusive creature and dislikes attending social events."

"He is _not _a beast!" Belle insisted. Ruby held her hands up in mock surrender.

"No need to get defensive," Ruby said.

"I'm _not,"_ Belle replied coolly. She put away the last of the linens, then shut the door to the closet and turned to find a very amused looking Ruby with hands on her hips and a knowing smile on her face. "What?"

"Was there anything you wanted to talk about, Belle?" she asked. "Any….deep dark secrets you wanted to admit?"

"No," Belle said a little too quickly. Ruby grinned wolfishly.

"Really?" she questioned. Belle said nothing. "You know, Belle, I'm pretty good at reading people. Especially my friends. And _you, _my dear friend Belle, are an open book. I know your secret and I know it's why you've been rather distracted today. So why don't you just cut to the chase and tell me what it is."

Belle let out a long breath. "I don't know what you're talking about, Ruby," she lied, walking back to the front desk.

"Oh, yes, you do! Now tell me! Tellmetellmetellme!" Ruby begged. "Please tell me or I'll die!" she cried, melodramatically flopping herself onto the front desk.

Belle snorted. "No, you won't!"

Ruby stood back up. "Okay, I won't," she allowed, "but I'll annoy you to death until you tell me your secret."

"Ruby…"

"Don't doubt my power to badger people into doing what I want," Ruby warned. "I will keep hounding you about this. I know you have a secret because you are being _very _defensive right now. So why don't you just take a deep breath and tell me? Okay?" she said, nodding encouragingly.

Belle sighed. "I can't believe I'm telling you this," she muttered. She took a deep breath, turned to Ruby and finally admitted "I think I like Gold."

Ruby raised an eyebrow. "You like him?" she echoed. "Why don't you clarify? Do you like him in the sense that he's been really nice and been a really good friend? Or do you like him in the sense that you really want to jump his bones?"

Belle's mouth gaped open. Sometimes, Ruby could be a handful. "Um-I-those are two _very _different extremes, Ruby," Belle pointed out. Her friend just blinked at her. "I..uh…oh, God, Ruby I do _not _feel comfortable talking about this."

"So you _do _want to jump his bones!" Ruby said gleefully.

"No, I do _not!" _Belle insisted. "Not at this moment, anyway."

Ruby grinned at her. "So you want to jump his bones at some point in the semi-near future?"

"Can you _please _stop using that phrase?" Belle pleaded. Should could feel herself blushing and could only imagine what she must look like.

"Stop using what phrase?" A new voice added. The girls had been so caught up in their conversation, they hadn't noticed August Booth had returned to the inn. Ruby's grin seemed to grow impossibly wide and sent a wicked glance Belle's way.

"Jump his bones," Ruby told him. Belle glared at her friend, who only snickered.

"Really?" August said, crossing his arms. He was smiling, too. Belle thought it a shame that the Earth wouldn't open up and swallow her whole right then and there. She could use the escape.

"And whose bones were you planning on jumping, Belle?" August asked mischeviously.

"Nobody's!" Belle said immediately.

"Mr. Gold's," Ruby answered.

"I never said that!" Belle insisted. She was certain that her face resembled a tomato at this point. "I never said that! Ruby is just putting words in my mouth!"

"Don't be so shy, Belle," August said. "I think you two would make a great couple. Although, word of advice: I wouldn't _literally _jump him. Bad leg and all. It might kill the mood."

Belle buried her face in her hands. "I want to _die!" _she declared.

"That would definitely kill the mood," August deadpanned, earning a laugh from Ruby. Belle glared at the both of them.

"I'm never speaking to either of you again," Belle muttered.

"Okay, okay, we'll stop teasing," Ruby promised. She turned to August and made a shooing motion with her hand. "This is officially a girl-only zone. Away with you."

August nodded his head and ascended the stairs, leaving the two girls alone again. "So you like Gold," Ruby started. Belle nodded. "Not platonically." Belle shook her head.

Ruby squealed and started jumping around, clapping her hands. "I knew it!" she squealed. "IknewitIknewitIknewit!" She sighed and looked at Belle. "I honestly thought _nobody _would catch Mr. Gold's eye. And I never thought that anybody would like him in _return. _This is a momentous occasion."

Belle, if possible, reddened even further. "You think he likes me, too?"

Ruby gave her a look. "Sweetie, he's got it _bad,"_ she replied.

"Oh," said Belle, not sure what to make of that. Robert liked her. If what Ruby said was true, he liked her in the same way she liked him…well that certainly made her feel a little less anxious over the whole thing.

"So if you like him and he likes you…what's the hold up?" Ruby asked. "One of you needs to make the first move. If Mr. Gold wasn't so afraid you were going to bolt at any second, I think he might've asked you out on a date long before now."

"Why would he think that?" Belle asked, feeling a little hurt. "That's ridiculous. Mr. Gold has been nothing but kind to me and sometimes I feel I'm being obvious about my feelings toward him. Why would I run away at the first sign of him returning those feelings?"

Ruby shrugged. "Men are very illogical beings. I think it mostly has to do with the fact that you're drop dead gorgeous and Mr. Gold is not a man with many friends in this town. For as long as I can remember, he's never been out on a date. I'm sure if he ever did, it would be on the front page of the newspaper."

"But we ate at the diner together," Belle pointed out. Ruby just shook her head.

"Doesn't count," she said. "Unless, when you two ultimately become a couple-and I _know _you will-you decide that it _was _a date. Most first dates are horrendously awkward and someone either says or does something _really _stupid to embarrass themselves to the point that they're sure the other person will _never _call to set up a second date. That awkwardness wasn't there."

"But we're _friends,_" Belle protested. "Why would it be awkward?"

"It's just the ways of the universe," Ruby explained with a wave of her hand. "So obviously, you're going to just have to ask him out on a date yourself. Once you do, it probably won't be too long after that for you two to get up to the _big _moment."

"The _big _moment?" Belle echoed. Ruby gave her a _look. _The blush crept back up into Belle's cheeks. "Oh, we honestly aren't talking about _that _again!"

"Yes, we are. Come on, the sexual tension between you two could be cut with a knife." Ruby clapped her hands together. "It's settled. We have some shopping to do." She grabbed her purse and then started dragging Belle out of the inn.

"Why do we have to go shopping?" Belle asked as they began tearing down the street.

"Because we need to strategize about how you're going to ask him out," Ruby explained. "We also need to get you some new nightgowns. Those cotton ones Gold and I bought you are _cute, _sure, but they're hardly seductress material. You need something in silk."

* * *

Gold had known that it was only a matter of time until Regina showed up in his shop that day. He had thought she'd be in much earlier and was pleasantly surprised to see Henry instead of his adopted mother. At least, it _was _a pleasant surprise until he had caught the mysterious stranger with the obviously fake name in the back of his shop.

August Wayne Booth had resorted to using Henry Mills as a pawn in whatever game he was playing: a game that Gold had been unaware of until that morning. Obviously he was going to have to pay more attention to this man.

The bell rang above the door to his shop and Regina stormed in, flipping the sign to closed and locking the door behind her. She walked over to the counter and leaned on it, getting closer to Gold. She glared at him.

"You broke our deal," she said. It wasn't a question. It was a statement.

"I broke one deal in my life dear," he told her "and it certainly wasn't this one."

"Kathryn was supposed to die and Mary Margaret was supposed to get the blame," Regina explained, exasperated.

"Yeah, murder seems so much _worse _here, now, doesn't it?" Gold said. "You can't just…turn someone into a snail and then step on them, can you?" That had been his specialty in the Enchanted Forest. He stopped doing that immediately after he lost Bae. Rumplestiltskin was still a cruel man, even worse than he had been before, but he never turned someone else into a snail (other animals, yes, but not snails).

Regina was still glaring at him. "You didn't say 'kill her.'" Gold pointed out. "We agreed that something _tragic _should happen to her. Now, _abduction _is tragic."

"The intent was perfectly clear!" Regina growled.

Gold had made enough bad decisions to know that intent meant nothing.

He had _intended _to turn the Dark One's magic towards good and he had a shop full of deals that had backfired on people with good intentions.

He had _intended _to follow through on the deal with his son and leave for a land without magic. It was the only deal he broke because he was too cowardly to let go of his magic.

He knew better than anyone that intent meant nothing when actions spoke louder than words.

"Oh, let's not talk about intent. Intent is meaningless," he said.

"Intent is _everything!"_ Regina insisted.

_"Please!" _Gold bit out. Finally, Regina fell silent. He picked up Bae's old ball and limped over to the usual place he kept it.

"This is going to raise all kinds of questions about where she was and how the test results were faked," Regina reminded him.

"Oh, yes," Gold said nonchalantly. "And, um…who put the key in her cell." He smiled coldly at her and Regina's eyes went wide. She pointed a shaking finger at herself.

"It's all going to lead to _me, _isn't it?" she asked. "You _bastard,_" Regina growled. "This is your revenge, isn't it? For what I did to your precious little maid? Your hands aren't exactly clean, either. What's going to happen if she finds out that you planned this all with me?"

"First of all, dearie, I had this all planned out before I discovered Belle was still alive, so this is not me getting my revenge. Not yet, anyway. Second, you aren't allowed to speak to her, remember? Oh, and if someone _were _to tell her, who do you think she would believe? There's me: the man that took her in, clothed her, fed her, and got her away from the hospital she was kept prisoner in. And then there's you: the woman she recognizes from the little slot in her cell door. The one that looked at her, smiled at her…_laughed _at her." Gold shook his head. "Sorry, dearie. It looks like _you're _the one that will be taking the fall for this."

Regina narrowed her eyes at him. "It still doesn't make any sense why you would do this. You and I have been in on this…together. From the start."

Gold laughed at her. "Oh, have we?"

"You created the curse for me!" Regina reminded him. "The curse that brought us here and built all of this."

Gold nodded. "Yes, it's about time you said thank you."

"Why did you do it?"

Gold leaned in closer to her. "Well you're a smart woman, your majesty." His expression turned darker and more menacing. "Figure it out."

* * *

Belle dropped the negligee back in her drawer in a hurry when she heard the front door open downstairs. It was a secret that was to remain between herself and Ruby. She was nervous enough about all of this. The looks that Ruby and August had been shooting her at the party last night didn't help to calm her nerves.

It was a pretty little nightgown that she and Ruby had picked out. Apparently the gray color really helped to bring out the blue in her eyes.

"It's elegant and sexy without being trashy," Ruby had told her. "Considering how classy the object of your affection dresses, I'd say it's absolutely perfect."

She shut the drawer as she heard her name being called. "Belle?" Robert said. "Are you here?"

She emerged from her bedroom just as Robert reached the top of the stairs. He looked relieved to see her.

"I thought you'd be out for most of the day," Belle remarked teasingly. Robert didn't respond in kind like he normally did. In fact, he looked rather pale and shaken. "Are you alright?" she asked.

He nodded. "I'm fine," he assured her unconvincingly. "I think I need to sit down is all." He crossed over to his bedroom door and opened it. Instead of going in, he turned back to face her. "Could you join me? I need to talk about something. Something I need to get off my chest."

Without waiting for her answer, Robert entered his bedroom. Belle's heart beat wildly against her chest as she struggled to take a few calming breaths. She remembered what Ruby had said about Robert liking her just as much as she liked him and how he was too scared to make the first move. Maybe that was what he was doing now. And she thought she had been mentally preparing so well to ask _him _out on a date first.

Belle took one more deep breath, smoothed out her skirt nervously with her hands and tried to hurry into his bedroom without looking too anxious. He was sitting on the edge of his bed, hunched over, elbows resting on his legs, fingers crossed together. His forehead was creased heavily and his eyes were closed. Maybe he was just as nervous as she was. Belle took a small amount of comfort in that.

Robert hadn't seemed to notice her presence so she cleared his throat. He looked up at her and blinked but didn't say anything. Tentatively, she took a step closer. "You wanted to talk to me about something?" she prompted.

Robert nodded, swallowed, sighed, and finally admitted "I think my son is in town."

After that bit of news, Belle felt the same need to sit down. She sat down next to him, trying to ignore the fact that she was sitting _on his bed_. Robert was struggling to find words so the task fell to Belle.

"Why didn't you tell me you had a son?" she asked quietly. Robert said nothing, but flinched slightly when she asked this. He must feel guilty keeping such information from her. He was obviously very wound up about the whole situation so she had to coax the information out of him. Slowly, she reached over and held one of his hands, intertwining their fingers.

"Tell me about him," Belle urged. "What's his name?"

"Bae," Robert muttered. "I haven't seen him in years."

Belle took his other hand with her free hand and she began to brush over his knuckles with her thumbs. "How do you know he's in town?" she asked him gently. "Did you recognize him?"

Robert sighed. "He's acting the way I would expect him to act. Maybe I'm just seeing what I want to see…projecting my own hopes on to someone who may not be…" Robert hung his head down. He was leaning more toward her now, seeking comfort in counsel in the person he was closest to.

"I take it the last time you saw him was not the happiest of moments," Belle guessed. Robert shook his head.

"It was my own fault," he admitted. "His mother died when he was a young boy. I tried to be a good parent, I really did, but I could've been better. I know that now. There was…conflict between us. He went to speak with the Mother Superior and she was the one who gave him the idea of leaving. I haven't seen him since."

Not hesitating for even a second, Belle enveloped Robert in a hug. Unlike the other times where he had seemed shocked by her touch and it had taken him a few moments to hesitantly return it, this time he immediately wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in her shoulder and hair.

Belle did feel a little guilty now for getting mad at him during the Miner's Day Festival. Perhaps he shouldn't be holding onto his animosity towards the nuns as strongly as he was, but she could understand it now. Anybody would be angry in his position.

She rubbed her hand up and down his back, trying to soothe away his anxiety. Robert began to relax ever so slightly in her embrace. "Has he tried talking to you?" Belle asked quietly. Robert shook his head and lifted his head some, resting his cheek against her hair.

"He's holding back, I think…waiting for me to come to him first. He has something to say to me, whether he's my son or not."

"Then why don't you go to him? Reach out to him. If he is your son, I'm sure he wants to see you as much as you want to see him. Parents should never be apart from their children."

Robert sighed. "I can't," he muttered.

Belle leaned away from him, but kept her hands gripped on his shoulders. She looked into the eyes of the man before her. They looked hopeful, but fear clouded over them, too.

"Yes, you can," Belle insisted gently. "The two of you have spent enough time apart. Not another _second _should be wasted." Robert still looked hesitant.

"Why don't you see if Archie has time to talk with you?" Belle suggested. "You could use a second opinion and Archie is a great listener. It is his job, after all." His lips twitched, but he didn't smile. "Go talk to him," she insisted.

Robert sighed heavily and then nodded. "Alright," he agreed. "I'll go."

Belle smiled. "Good," she said, nodding approvingly. She walked with him down the stairs and back to the front door. "I want to hear everything when you get back. And I hope everything goes well for you."

Robert nodded. "I hope so, too."

He looked so lost, so torn between hopefulness and sadness, Belle wished she could do something to make it better. That's when she realized she _could _do something. Not giving herself a chance to think too hard about it (because then she'd get too nervous and convince herself not to do it) Belle went up on her toes and gave Robert a small peck on the cheek.

"Good luck," she told him, smiling up at him and feeling the blush creeping back into her cheeks. Robert seemed utterly shocked by her actions, but not at all displeased. For a man that was normally so quick with his words, they failed him now. He finally chose to just say nothing, nodded at her, and left the house.

Belle hadn't worked up the nerve to confess that she liked him or ask him out on a date that day, but under the circumstances, she felt that it could wait.

* * *

It was late that night when Gold finally pulled into his driveway and shut off his car. His hopes had been raised so high only to come crashing back down to Earth. It had all been for naught.

The stranger wasn't Bae at all. Just a dying man trying to use him to get what he wanted.

Gold cursed himself. Of course the man hadn't been Bae. After what he had done, Bae wasn't going to be the one to seek him out. It wasn't Bae that broke his promise.

It wasn't Bae that chose power and magic over family.

It wasn't Bae that had abandoned _him._

Sighing, he got out of the car and started limping up to the house. Belle was probably already asleep by now. He had told her so much more about Bae in this world than he had in their old land. He had thought he'd been so close to finding him again and Belle was the first and only person he could think of to talk to about it.

It had never really struck him how lonely he had been all these years until he finally had Belle again. Until he had realized she was the one person he could talk to about his son. Of course there was Doctor Hopper, and if Belle hadn't been around he probably would have decided to talk to him all on his own, but that was different. It was in the former cricket's nature to want to listen to and help people. Not to mention in this land he got paid for it.

Gold was surprised when he came back in the house to see Belle on the couch, sound asleep. A lamp nearby was still on. She had been waiting for him. The thought warmed his heart.

His travel books were piled up on the coffee table. He himself had often flipped through the pages and wondered if his boy had seen any of the wonders this world had to offer.

Belle shifted some in her sleep but did not wake up and the blanket she had covering her slipped off of her shoulder some. Gold felt guilty when he first spotted her pouring over the pages of these books. Whether it be in the Enchanted Forest or Storybrooke, Maine, his Belle had a desire to see the world. Bringing her to the Dark Castle had denied her the opportunity. Of course, letting her die by the hands of the ogres or sentencing her to be a quiet wife to the oaf Gaston wouldn't have been much better and he took some comfort in that.

But now she was here with him and the curse was close to breaking. They'd be able to leave town together and he'd take her to see the world. That is, if she didn't run away from him the moment she remembered who she was. He was still the coward that sent her away. He was the reason she had been locked away for so long. There was no telling what lies Regina told her while she'd been locked away. She must have hated him by the time the curse hit. All that time locked away and he hadn't come to rescue her.

Banishing these thoughts before he got worked up and angry with himself and began smashing things, he reached down and shook Belle's shoulder gently.

"Belle?" he whispered. "Sweetheart? Would you like to go up to your bed now?"

Belle blinked tiredly and rubbed her eyes. "You're home?" she yawned.

He smiled, in spite of how he was feeling after the night's events. "I am. Were you trying to wait up for me?" Gold asked. Belle stood up, stretched, and nodded. "You didn't have to do that, dear."

"I wanted to," she told him. "I figured no matter how things went tonight, you might need someone to talk to." Belle frowned and looked up at him with those sad, pitiful eyes of hers. "Judging by your expression, it looks like it didn't go well."

Gold sighed. "It wasn't him," he said quietly. Belle didn't hesitate to reach out and comfort him again like she had before. She cupped his face with one hand and with the other, she brushed his hair back from his face. He leaned into her touch, enjoying it while he still could.

"I'm sorry," Belle told him sincerely. "I am _so _sorry, Robert. I really wanted your son to be here, too."

"It's my own fault. I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up."

"Anyone would have done the same in your position," Belle told him immediately. "This was just a minor setback. You _will _find him." He must have still looked downtrodden because Belle's hands dropped to his shoulders and she gave him a little shake. "You _will_," she repeated with such conviction, he was beginning to believe her.

"Maybe one day," he allowed. His mood had improved only marginally, but it was enough to satisfy Belle. Her hands dropped from his shoulders, but she surprised him by grabbing on to one of his hands.

"Come on," she said. With her free hand she reached over and turned off the lamp. "You must be exhausted." That was something he could agree with. She led him to the stairs.

"Have you decided where you want to go yet?" Gold asked her when they were halfway up the stairs. "I saw all the books downstairs. I'm surprised I wasn't handed an itinerary the moment I walked through the door."

"I have spent a lot of time thinking about where I'd like to go," Belle admitted. "I had many ideas but I wasn't completely sure until just a few minutes ago about where I wanted to go. But now, I've decided." They stopped outside the door to his bedroom.

"And where's that, dear?" he asked.

Belle smiled up at him. "I want to help you find your son," she told him. That had thrown him for a loop. His Belle, his darling Belle, who had never had the chance to see the world or do many of the things she had wanted to do, was willing to put her own plans on the back burner once more. To help _him _of all people…

"B-but what about all that talk about pyramids and cities and islands?" he sputtered in disbelief. "I thought you wanted to go out into the world and have an adventure."

Belle covered the hand she was holding with her other hand. In this land and the last one, he was still amazed that she was not terrified or repulsed by the thought of touching him. "What greater adventure could there be than seeing a father reunite with his son?" she said. "You're a lonely man, Robert Gold, with only me as a friend. After the kindness you've shown me, you deserve some happiness, too."

She bid him a good night and left him standing there in the doorway to his bedroom. Gold could only hope that this mentality of hers stayed when the curse finally broke. Belle of Storybrooke might think him deserving of happiness, but after all she had been through and all he had done, Belle of the Enchanted Forest might think differently.

* * *

**This was originally going to be a part of the previous chapter, meaning that it would've been over 9,000 words or so if I hadn't decided to split the two up. We're getting close to the end and I've begun work on my next Rumbelle story. I won't tell you much about it except that it is an AU. Vague, I know.**

**Thanks for reading!**


	11. Chapter 11

"Do you always eat lunch in your shop?" Belle asked. She had picked up some sandwiches from Granny's for the two of them and they were eating together at the table in the back room of the shop.

Robert nodded. "I am the only one who works in my shop. I have to stay open."

"But you don't have a lot of customers that come in here every day," Belle pointed out, which was true. "And it's so dark in here. You never get any fresh air and sunshine."

He raised an eyebrow. "Are you suggesting that I eat my lunch outside when it's still this cold out?"

"I meant when it's warmer. It's getting warmer already. You need to get out of this shop every once in a while."

"I do," Robert protested and Belle narrowed her eyes.

"I didn't mean when you go around being a grump about the rent," she said teasingly.

"I am not a grump about the rent," he said. "Sometimes it's about a loan." Belle laughed and rolled her eyes at him.

"Not to mention any cases you may take on," she reminded him. At these words Robert put down the sandwich he'd been eating and looked at Belle seriously.

"Speaking of cases, I was thinking of drawing one up against Regina," he admitted.

Belle was confused. "I thought you weren't going to help Emma get custody of Henry." There was a little bit of a disapproving tone there. She still thought he should have taken the case.

"No, I'm not. I meant a case against Regina for _you_," Robert explained. "She was the one who locked you away. Not to mention faked your death and then lied about it to me."

"How did she fake my death?" Belle wanted to know. Robert had sworn he would give no details of her life before the hospital because he wanted her to remember on her own. He had said when they had first met that he had been wrongly informed of her death but he had made no more mention of it until now.

"It doesn't matter-" Robert tried to say, but Belle cut him off.

"It was _my _death she apparently faked. It most definitely _does _matter, especially to me. Robert it's been weeks and I still don't remember anything." She sighed and buried her face in her hands. "Why can't I remember anything?"

Robert reached out and started brushing his hand gently up and down her arm. "I'm sorry, dear. I'm so sorry you still aren't remembering anything."

"It doesn't matter," she said. She took her face from her hands and looked him in the eye. "I'll get over the lost memories. Just like I'll get over what Regina did to me. I don't want you to make a case against her."

Robert-no, _Rumplestiltskin_-was nearly speechless at Belle's declaration. Granted, she hadn't _known _that she had been locked up for twenty-eight years-not to mention the time she spent imprisoned in the Enchanted Forest before the curse hit-but she knew more now. She had a little knowledge at what had been done to her and she chose to forgive and forget. However, he could not do it so easily.

"You don't want to make her pay for what she did to you?" Robert demanded hotly. "She locked you away in that place!"

"Yes, I remember," Belle commented dryly.

"I cannot let this stand, Belle. I _will not _let this stand," Robert insisted.

Belle narrowed her eyes at him again. _"No,"_ she insisted. "I don't want you to do this. Making a case against her is just an excuse for you to have revenge against her and despite what you think, it won't make you happy. It never will. And trying to get back at her for what she did will _never _replace all the time I spent locked away in that cell. It won't get those days or the memories of the days before then back. I'd rather try and do my best to move on and focus on the future." She reached across the table and placed her hands over Robert's. "You've already rescued me. You've already done so much for me. So just do one more thing and promise you won't go after her. Please do that for me."

Robert wanted to fight her on this, he wanted to insist on taking down Regina for what she did to Belle, but he was lost when he saw those pleading, hopeful eyes of hers. He sighed defeated. "Alright, I promise," he said.

Belle nodded approvingly and patted his hands. "Good," she said. The rest of their lunch was spent on happier topics with plenty of laughter and smiles shared between the two. Any thoughts of Regina remained (mostly) forgotten.

* * *

Archie opened up his folder, uncapped his pen, and adjusted the glasses on his nose. Belle had improved drastically since that first meeting with her. She had gone from a scared, emotionally scarred psychiatric patient to a well-adjusted member of society. Anyone who knew the girl would never guess that she had once been a patient of the psych ward.

His first session with her after she had been taken in by Mr. Gold had been in his house. Very few had been permitted to enter the pink Victorian mansion. Actually, until Belle came to stay here, someone entering this house was completely unheard of. But there had been Belle, Mary Margaret, Ruby (who had told him all about the experience in the time it took for her to get Archie's usual pastry and coffee to go one morning), and now Archie himself. He supposed that Moe French and Sheriff Swan could count themselves among those that had been inside these walls, but that had been on account of Moe French's robbery.

Archie briefly wondered if Belle knew of Mr. Gold's attack on Moe French, but banished the thought. If she had known, then she would have brought it up. Mr. Gold certainly wasn't likely to bring it up anytime soon so neither would Archie.

He did have to wonder, though, if Belle was the reason behind Mr. Gold's rather vicious attack. It had seemed…personal. He had heard enough of the rumors. He had heard about Mr. Gold screaming at Moe French over a mystery woman. Gold himself admitted that he had thought that Belle had been dead.

Archie shook his head. He shouldn't jump to conclusions. He didn't know all the facts.

Belle met him in his office now. She wore a kind smile on her face as she waited for him to begin, but she had something on her mind. They'd get to that eventually, he was sure.

"How are you today, Belle?" he began.

"I'm great," she assured him.

"And how do you feel you're adjusting to normal day to day life?"

Belle shrugged. "I guess I'm doing just fine. I still don't remember life before the hospital so it's not like I have a comparison." She gave a small nervous laugh. Ah, so that's what was on her mind.

"Your amnesia still persists," Archie observed. Belle nodded and began twisting a strand of her hair around her finger.

"I was hoping that maybe my memories would be jogged by now and that I'd remember _something. _Anything. But it's like my mind was wiped clean and I was just…dropped into this town. Nothing and no one is familiar to me."

"Not even Mr. Gold?" Archie ventured to ask. "He seems to have known you before. Does he seem familiar to you?"

Belle thought about it for a minute. "Yes and no," she finally answered. "He's still just as much of a stranger to me as the rest of them but at the same time…I feel like I did know him once. Maybe there _is _a history between us. I just wish I could remember it."

"Have you asked Mr. Gold to enlighten you on your shared past?" Archie asked. Belle frowned disappointedly.

"I asked once," she admitted. "He said he wants me to remember on my own. But I'm not remembering anything at all and it's just…"

"Frustrating?" Archie supplied.

Belle nodded. "And confusing. It's like I've opened up a book to read and the first half of the book is just missing. Like those pages have just been ripped out."

Archie shifted in his chair. "Not everyone with amnesia gets their memories back," he told her gently. "You may get some of your memories back, you may get none, and it may take more time. All I can recommend is that you be patient and see if they come back. In the meantime, why don't you make some new memories and make a life here? You might enjoy this one better."

"What about hypnosis?" Belle asked.

Archie shook his head. "I'm not sure-"

"Could we try? Please? Just to see if there's _something _there?" Belle pleaded.

Archie sighed. "Alright, we'll try. But keep in mind that with your level of amnesia, we may not find anything. Don't be discouraged if nothing happens, alright?" Belle nodded eagerly. "Alright, then. Lay back on the couch and close your eyes."

Slowly, Archie's calming voice and careful instructions lulled Belle into a hypnotic state. To anybody else, she would have appeared fast asleep.

"Belle? Can you hear me?" Archie asked gently.

"Yes," Belle breathed. Archie nodded approvingly.

"Good, good. Now I want you to go back in your memory. Tell me the first thing you see. Do you know where you are?"

"I'm in the woods," she answered.

"Why are you in the woods?"

"I helped a friend but now I need to go back."

"Back where?"

Belle sighed. "Mr. Gold, I think. We had a fight. I want to go back to him."

Well, this certainly was interesting. And it backed up Mr. Gold's claim that the two had known each other previously. He had believed him. Truly, he did. But there was that one little sliver of doubt that had been creeping at the back of his mind.

"Do you know what you two fought about?" Archie asked.

"No," Belle told him.

"Did you make it back to Mr. Gold's house?" he asked, but Archie felt that he already knew the answer.

"No," Belle said again and now she sounded absolutely heartbroken. "She found me first. She locked me away in the cell." Belle's breath hitched violently and tears began to stream from her closed eyes. "She told me it would be better for me if I never saw him again; that she was saving m-me." Belle broke down into sobs then and Archie acted quickly. The hypnosis was doing her more harm than good at the moment.

"Belle? Belle, listen to me. I'm going to bring you out of this, alright?" Archie assured her over the sobs. "I'm going to count backwards from three and snap my fingers and you're going to wake up and be back in my office, safe and sound. Three…two…one." He snapped his fingers and Belle's eyes flew open, the sobs stopping immediately.

She sat up slowly looking confused and Archie handed her his box of tissues. Belle looked surprised when she felt her cheeks and they came away wet. She began to dab at her eyes, wiping away the tears.

"So, something happened, then?" Belle asked.

Archie nodded. "You don't remember any of it?" Belle shook her head sadly.

"Looks like the hypnosis only worked on me temporarily," she said, sounding defeated.

Archie leaned forward more in his chair. "I believe you went through some trauma and that is what's causing your amnesia. Believe it or not, losing your memories is actually a defense mechanism. It's protecting you until you're ready to deal with it." He reached over to his planner and opened it up. "How about we make an appointment for next week? We can try again and see if we get any better results."

Belle nodded numbly and made the appointment before leaving the building. She had been so close. _So _close to remembering something only for it to slip through her grasp.

She walked across the street to Granny's and sat down at one of the tables so she could mope. Archie was probably right and she _should _try and make a new life with new memories, but she couldn't help but feel that some big chunk of her was missing.

With the sudden feeling that she was being watched Belle looked around and nearly jumped out of her skin when she saw Henry standing nearby. She liked Henry; he was a nice kid despite having Regina as a mother. But she had to remind herself that it was actually _Emma _who was his mother and he had no relation to the mayor whatsoever.

"You startled me, Henry," Belle told him.

"Sorry," the young boy said apologetically. "I just wanted to know if you were okay. You looked kind of sad."

"Oh, no, I'm fine," she assured the young boy.

"Is this about your memories?" Henry asked. He sat down at the table next to Belle. "I heard Mary Margaret telling my mom Emma about it. She said you have a-am…" Henry paused, trying to think of the right word.

"Amnesia," Belle supplied. "I am feeling a little down that the memories haven't come back yet. But I'm sure they will."

Henry hugged his backpack closer to him. "I've been meaning to ask you: has Belle always been your name?"

Belle shrugged and smiled sadly. "I actually don't know what my real name is. I just asked Mr. Gold to pick out a name for me so I'd have one. He chose Belle."

Henry's eyes lit up. "I knew it!" he said excitedly. He began to dig around in his backpack. "I can't believe I didn't figure it out before! And if _you're _Belle, then that means Mr. Gold is- oh, it's so obvious!"

"What's so obvious?" Belle asked.

Henry smiled up at her and put a rather large leather bound book on the table. "I can help you! I know who you are!" he said triumphantly.

Well, he certainly had her interest now. "You do?"

Henry nodded. "What I'm going to tell you might sound crazy, but just listen, alright?" he looked at her until Belle nodded. Henry turned back to his book and started flipping through the pages. He stopped at a page with a drawing of a woman dressed in black, riding a horse.

Belle's eyes went wide as she stared at the page. No. It couldn't be. She looked _just _like the woman from her dreams. But the woman in her dreams was supposed to be _Regina._ She was sure of it. And yet the woman in the book looked just like her, too.

"She looks familiar," Belle finally ventured to say. She didn't want to voice her thoughts aloud.

"That's my mom. My adopted mom, Regina," Henry explained. "She's the mayor here."

Belle nodded. "Yes, I've seen her," she said absently.

"Did you mean she looks familiar from somewhere else?" Henry was surprisingly inquisitive and insightful for such a young boy.

"Maybe," Belle mumbled.

Henry seemed pleased by this and nodded approvingly. "Anyway," he continued, "Everyone in this town used to live in another land called the Enchanted Forest. But my mom wanted revenge on Snow White-that's Mary Margaret-and Prince Charming-David Nolan-so she cast a powerful curse that sent everyone here and nobody remembers who they are. Not Mary Margaret, not David, not even you."

Belle decided to play along with Henry, no matter how strange his theory sounded. "Why would she do that?"

"The curse doesn't let _anyone _have a happy ending. Only the Evil Queen-that's my adopted mom, by the way-can have one. But my mom Emma is the savior. She's the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming and she's the _only _one that can break the curse. Before she got here time was frozen and everybody was just walking around in a haze. But the curse isn't broken yet so everyone still has all the wrong memories."

"Why don't I have any?" Belle asked.

Henry began to flip through the pages again. "To answer that, you need to know _your _story." He stopped at a page with an illustration of a small castle on a hill. "You used to live here with your father Maurice. He was kind of nice except he arranged a marriage for you. Gaston was kind of an idiot."

Belle blinked in surprise and smiled a little bit. "I'm married? That's a terrible thing to forget your husband."

"You never got the chance to get married. The Third Ogre War started not long after your engagement was announced. Your father's armies fought against them, but they kept losing. A lot. It was looking pretty desperate so your father sent word to the one person who could save everyone: Rumplestiltskin." Henry turned the pages a few more times to an illustration of a man of sorts lounging around on a throne, dressed in leathers. His skin didn't look quite right…a little scaly and shimmery, to be honest. There was something rather familiar about him, too.

"Rumplestiltskin agreed to help your father, but all magic comes with a price and his price was you. He said he wanted a caretaker for his castle and you may have started out that way, but the truth was that he was lonely and he needed a friend. He'd lost his wife and his son a long time ago and you were never afraid of him."

Henry turned the pages again and stopped at another illustration which left Belle stunned.

It was of two figures sitting side by side. One of them was of Rumplestiltskin.

The other looked _very much _like her.

"You two fell in love," Henry told her when Belle said nothing.

She cleared her throat a few times before smiling at Henry. "And did we live happily ever after?"

Henry grimaced and shook his head. "The Evil Queen wanted to be more powerful than Rumplestiltskin and the only way to do that would be to break the Dark One's Curse. She'd been spying on you two at Rumplestiltskin's Dark Castle and she knew that you were each other's True Love. True Love's Kiss is the most powerful magic of all and it can break _any _curse. One day, Rumplestiltskin decided to let you go. He wanted you to be at the Dark Castle because _you _wanted to be, not because he made a deal for you. And you _were _going to go back to your father. At least for a little while. But the Evil Queen found you on the road and told you all about True Love's Kiss and you went back to the Dark Castle to break his curse."

"And did it work? Did I break the curse?"

"It started to," Henry said. "But Rumplestiltskin realized that you had talked with the Evil Queen and he got mad and scared. He needed his curse and his magic to find his son and if you had taken that away, he would never see him again. And he'd been all alone for so long that he didn't think _anyone _could love him, not even you."

Belle felt saddened by the tale; more saddened than she _should _be. It was just a story after all. Just a fairy tale. But it did sound oddly familiar. Maybe she had read this book once.

"Well, I'm starting to get the feeling that this story doesn't have a happy ending," Belle guessed.

Henry shook his head. "He sent you away and you called him a coward. You had an adventure of your own and broke a curse on someone else before you decided to go back to Rumplestiltskin but the Evil Queen met you on the road again and she captured you. You were locked away in the highest room of the tallest tower at her castle. Then she went to Rumplestiltskin and told him that you had been tortured and you threw yourself off of a tower. After she left, Rumplestiltskin went over to his collections and took a teacup you chipped on your very first day in his castle and he put it on a pedestal. It was the only thing of yours he had left."

Henry turned the pages again to show her yet another illustration. This one was of a very familiar looking teacup. White with blue flowers and a chip on the rim.

Belle almost laughed with relief. No wonder the story seemed familiar! It was the same one Robert had told her in his shop. The two teacups did look _very _similar and she looked very much like the woman in the book.

No wonder Robert had given her the name of Belle! He must have seen this book himself and had noticed the similarities between the illustration in the book and herself. And giving the teacup the story from the book did make it seem that much more special.

"So if I'm the same Belle from this story," Belle wondered aloud, "then who is Rumplestiltskin?"

Henry rolled her eyes at her, as if he couldn't believe she would ask such a simple question. "It's Mr. Gold! Duh! After he found out you were alive do you really think he was going to let the Evil Queen get a hold of you again?" He gave her a look before returning to the pages in front of him. "If anyone can protect you, it's him. But you're pretty good at defending yourself, too. Before you were captured by the Evil Queen you went on a hunt for the Yaoguai and-"

A garbled, static noise came from Henry's coat pocket. He closed the book and pulled out a walkie-talkie. "Emma?" he said, confused.

"Henry," Emma's voice answered through the speaker. She sounded strange and it had nothing to do with the technology distorting her voice. "Can you meet me at the apartment in ten, fifteen minutes?"

Henry had also caught on to Emma's voice sounding strange. "Is this about Operation Cobra?" he asked cautiously.

"Can you meet me?" she repeated, dodging the question.

"Um, sure. I'll be there."

"Great," Emma sighed. "Over and out."

Henry looked up at Belle apologetically. "I have to go," he said. He put the walkie-talkie away in his pocket and his book back into his backpack. "I know you don't believe me yet, but you will. Emma's really close to breaking the curse and everyone will get their memories back. I _promise."_

Belle just smiled at him. "Thanks for talking to me, Henry," she told him sincerely. "I like your stories."

"They're not just stories," he insisted. "I'll see you later, Belle." And then Henry left to find his mother and Belle was alone again. Feeling _much _better, she walked back down the street to the pawnshop. She knew he'd still be there, the workaholic.

"How did your session with Doctor Hopper go?" he asked without looking up. He was spinning a globe around and around with a rather far off look on his face. Probably thinking of his son again.

"It went well," Belle said, though she couldn't help but feel that that wasn't the _whole _truth. "I ran into Henry afterwards and he told me a _very _interesting story."

Robert looked up slowly from the globe. "Really?" he said.

Belle nodded. "And I, uh, hate to tell you this, but…your secret has been exposed," she told him teasingly. "You sir…are a plagiarizer."

Robert raised an eyebrow. "And how exactly did you come to that conclusion?"

"Well Henry told me all about a story from a book of his and I thoughtit sounded strangely familiar. Like I've heard it before. Then I remembered."

Robert was very quiet for a long while before he finally, slowly answered "Remembered what, dear?"

"Just a little story a certain someone told me about. Something about a chipped cup." She grinned playfully at him. "You, sir, have read that story in Henry's book, too. That's why you told me that story about the chipped cup." She crossed over to the display case that held the cup. "I have to admit, they do look rather similar. Do you always sell things better if you can connect them to a fairy tale?"

"Who's to say that fairy tales aren't based on true stories?" Robert challenged teasingly. Belle laughed and walked back over to him.

"Enough talk of fairy tales. What would you like to do for dinner tonight?"

And just like that, the smile from Robert's face fell. "I'm afraid I have to stay late tonight, dear. I have some things I have to work on."

The smile fell from Belle's face as well. "Oh," she said quietly.

"I'm sorry."

"It's alright," Belle assured him. "You'll just have to make it up to me sometime soon." She reached out and straightened his tie some which made him smile again.

"Don't wait up for me," he told her.

Belle nodded and squeezed his hand before leaving the shop. Now all Rumplestiltskin had to do was wait for the Savior Emma Swan to come to his shop. The curse was weakening; it was at the breaking point. All Emma needed was just a small push and the curse would finally be lifted on everyone. Including Belle.

Maybe he would earn some points back with her for rescuing her from the asylum, but once she remembered _everything_…needless to say, he was prepared for her run away screaming and he honestly wouldn't blame her.

* * *

**Almost to the end now, dearies! Thanks for reading and don't forget to review!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Sorry the chapter took so long. Life. It happens. Anyway, it is quite a long chapter, so I hope you enjoy.**

* * *

Rumpelstiltskin ended up waiting longer than he had originally anticipated for the Savior to finally arrive in his shop. The curse had been weakening for days now; he didn't need Regina's dying tree to tell him that. His gift of Sight had begun to return. It wasn't as strong as it was in the Enchanted Forest, but it was still there. So he knew tonight would be the night that the Savior would come to him for help. He knew that Henry was in trouble and needed saving. Within the next twenty-four hours, the curse would be broken.

He went around dusting the various objects both from this world and their old one. There was a drinking stein from one of the seven dwarves that served Snow White, the crystal mobile that was supposed to hang above baby Emma's crib, Geppetto's parents, and of course Belle's chipped cup.

Rumpelstiltskin smiled as he held the cup in his hands. He could still remember the surprise and relief that came over her when she realized he wasn't going to get horribly cross with her for chipping it. She had always been an avid reader and had no doubt come across many tales of the Dark One. After that day, that cup had quickly become his preferred cup for tea. Belle had noticed and smiled but said nothing.

He was reaching up to pluck a few strings on one of the guitars in his shop when the bell above the door rang, despite the closed sign. He turned to look and saw Emma Swan, with a look of fear, confusion, determination, and wrath that only a mother could posses. She finally believed in the curse.

"Do my eyes deceive me or is that the look of a believer?" Rumpelstiltskin asked as Emma entered the shop, followed closely by Regina. He walked over to the counter where he had brought out the case holding Charming's sword. She would need it tonight.

"We need your help," Emma said breathlessly.

"Indeed you do," he agreed. "It seems quite the tragic ailment has befallen our young friend." He looked to Regina. "I told you magic comes with a price."

"Henry shouldn't have to pay it," Regina said quietly.

"No, _you _should, but alas, we are where we are."

Emma ignored their exchange. "Can you help us?" she asked.

Rumpelstiltskin looked back and forth between the two of them and shook his head. "No," he said. "The only person I'll be helping tonight is _you_, Miss Swan." He turned to Regina and glared. "Over my dead body will I be helping you with anything ever again; not after what you did to Belle. So you can forget any illusion you might be harboring that I'm helping _you._"

Emma crossed her arms and looked at him carefully, as if trying to see how the man in the suit in front of her could possibly be the Rumpelstiltskin in her son's book. "The crazy guy with the hat called you the Beast. So would that make Belle-"

"Yes," he answered immediately.

Emma still seemed confused. "But you're not-"

"Covered in fur?" he guessed. "Eight feet tall? Were you expecting horns?"

"No, I just never imagined someone who steals babies as the Beast," she explained.

Rumpelstiltskin sighed. Of all the fairy tales, _his _story was perhaps the most misconstrued of all. "I never stole a baby, people traded them away," he corrected. "And you'll find that I'm in more of the stories you grew up with than you can imagine. But we're not here to talk about me. We're here to talk about how to save your boy Henry and the answer, I assure you is simple. True Love, Miss Swan: the only magic powerful enough to transcend realms and break _any _curse. Luckily for you, I happened to have bottled some."

Regina couldn't hide her surprise. "You did?"

Rumpelstiltskin chose to ignore his former apprentice. "From strands of your parents' hair I made the most powerful potion in all the realm. So powerful, that when I created the Dark Curse, I placed a single drop on the parchment. Just as a little safety valve."

Realization came over Emma's face. "That's why _I'm _the Savior!" she said. "That's why _I_ can break the curse!"

"Now you get it."

"I don't care about breaking the curse. All I care about is saving Henry." Well it didn't matter what Emma Swan wanted because the curse would be broken simultaneously with the saving of Henry.

"Which is why it's your lucky day," Rumpelstiltskin told her. "I didn't use all the potion. I saved some…for a rainy day."

"Well it's storming like a bitch. Where is it?" Emma demanded. Clearly, she did not inherit her people skills from her mother.

"Where it is, isn't the problem. Getting it is just a touch more difficult."

"Enough riddles," Regina cut in. "What do we do?"

"_You _do nothing!" Rumpelstiltskin snapped. "It has to be Miss Swan."

"He's _my _son," Regina protested. "It should be me.

"It's _her _son," he corrected her harshly. "So it _has _to be her. She's the product of magic. She must be the one to find it."

Emma's fear and confusion was hidden away by her look of fierce determination. "I can do it," she said.

"Don't trust him," Regina said warningly.

"What choice do we have?"

"That's right dearie," Rumpelstiltskin agreed. "What choice _do _you have?"

"Where is this magic?" Emma asked.

Rumpelstiltskin had to try not to grin. He had been waiting twenty-eight years to see Regina's reaction to his little secret. "Tell me, your majesty, is our friend still in the basement?" he asked innocently.

"Oh, you twisted little imp!" Regina snarled. "You hid it with _her?!_"

"No, no, no. Not with her. _In _her." He couldn't help but smile now. The look on Regina's face had been well worth the wait. "I knew you couldn't resist bringing her over."

"Who is her?" Emma demanded.

"Someone you should be prepared for." He ran the dust cloth over the case one more time before throwing it off to the side. "Where _you're _going, you're going to need this." He opened up the case, revealing the newly cleaned and sharpened sword.

"What is that?" Emma asked slowly.

"Your father's sword," he told her. "A lot to absorb, dearie?"

"Yeah," Emma said, picking up the sword. "Just a little bit too much."

Well she had better get used to it quickly. She had her son to save, a curse to break, and a destiny to fulfill.

* * *

Belle was in a different hall in a different castle. Some of the windows were smashed; a casualty of battle. She raced through the corridors, searching for safety as she heard distant animal-like roars. She knew the sound belonged to a terrible monster, but she did not know the name of it.

She pushed open a set of double doors and ran inside, stopping short when she found herself in that same large hall yet again. There was a tea set on the table. Steam was coming from the spout, as if the tea had just been brewed mere moments ago.

Belle immediately began to pour some tea into a cup as if it was the most natural thing to do. As if she was _supposed _to do it.

"How do you like your tea?" she asked aloud. She looked up, expecting to see someone else in the room with her, but there was nobody. Saddened, she turned her attention back to the teacup only to discover it wasn't there anymore. It was on the floor. Chipped.

Belle knelt down and picked the cup up, examining it. "It's chipped," she said. She felt worried for some unknown reason. Like chipping the cup had been her fault and there would be consequences for so small a mistake. A pair of clawed hands appeared from nowhere and snatched the cup away.

"It's just a cup," a new voice said offhandedly. She recognized that voice. It was the same voice she had heard in her dreams several times before now. It was more distinct and clear now, less distorted and garbled. It was familiar to her somehow.

A strange ripping sound echoed through the hall and Belle turned toward the source. The curtains fell from one window and then the other, bathing the hall in the brilliant sunlight of late afternoon.

"Rather bright in here now," she commented, forgetting that she was still alone.

"I'll get used to it," that same voice whispered right in her ear. Shivers went down her spine and goose bumps erupted all over her skin. Belle turned around to see who spoke, but they were gone again. She sighed, frustrated. How was she supposed to find the body the voice belonged to if they kept disappearing on her?

A familiar creaking noise started up again and Belle immediately looked over to the spinning wheel she always saw in the corner: the spinning wheel that spun all on its own.

Except this time it wasn't.

This time there was someone there.

Their back was turned to her and Belle slowly approached, trying not to make any noise. It was a man…that much she knew right away. The voice was definitely a man's voice and she was certain that it belonged to the man sitting at the spinning wheel. His hair was around shoulder length and it was curly. The gold silk shirt seemed to shine like real gold in the sunlight. His back was covered by a leather vest and he wore matching leather breeches as well. She recognized the same clawed hand that spun the wheel as the one that snatched the tea cup away from her.

"Why do you spin so much?" Belle asked him as she approached the wheel.

"I like to watch the wheel," the man replied after pausing for a moment. "Helps me forget."

"Forget what?" she asked, right behind the man now. He stopped spinning the wheel completely and his back became ramrod straight. Slowly tentatively, Belle put a hand on his shoulder. After a few more tense moments the man began to turn around to look at her.

And that's when Belle woke up. The stranger's face was still a mystery.

* * *

Rumpelstiltskin could barely contain his glee. He had done it. He had the egg. Once Miss Swan saved Henry and broke the curse, he was sure he'd have to deal with her and her equally enraged parents, but by that time, he'd have brought magic to the town. He could protect himself. He could protect Belle…but she wouldn't need protecting.

He kept forgetting that once she remembered everything that had transpired between them in the Enchanted Forest, she wouldn't want to be near him again. At least for these past few weeks, Rumpelstiltskin had had the chance to redeem himself at least a little bit. Everything he had done for Belle here in Storybrooke was his way of apologizing.

For rejecting her.

For casting her out.

For being a coward.

For believing Regina's lies.

It was nowhere near enough to redeem all of his mistakes with her and if Belle asked him to, he would grovel on his hands and knees to beg for her forgiveness. He had, after all, been a monster to her. He was in love with her still, even after all this time. They were, after all, each other's True Love, even if Belle didn't remember it.

When he had first lost Baelfire he had sworn he would love no one else but he couldn't stop himself from thinking from time to time that Bae needed a mother. Milah left when he was so very young and she wasn't a very great mother to him, either. She nursed him dutifully but the moment Bae was old enough for solid foods, it was up to Rumpelstiltskin to make sure their boy was fed. She left him all alone in the house for hours with increasing frequency until she finally up and left altogether. Although it had been torture walking home that night, knowing he'd have to tell Bae that his mother was dead, it had been the much better option than telling him that she had abandoned him. He wanted Bae to have good memories of his mother, as scarce as they may be.

Rumpelstiltskin set down the golden egg on the counter and smiled. It had been ridiculously easy to sneak up on Regina and knock her out. She came to just a few minutes later surprised and angry to find herself gagged and tied to a chair. Her eyes narrowed when she spotted him and she tried to shout at him. He was sure there had been quite a few words that were _not _appropriate for young Henry's ears hurled his way.

He only chuckled at her before walking over to the elevator and disabling it at the right moment. Just a few short moments later, the egg was his; safely in his hands as he strolled out of the building and back to the pawnshop with it.

It was early morning now; the sun had only risen just a few minutes beforehand. The curse would be broken soon and now was the time to act. He found the key easily and unlocked the egg, holding his breath as he did so. He let it out when he saw the potion still there; still glowing as brilliantly as the day he had bottled it.

He held it up to the light to look at the contents more closely. Then the bell to the shop rang. Hurriedly, he stuffed the potion into his jacket pocket and then he closed the egg and turned around to shut it in a random trunk he had lying around.

"Did you come home at _all _last night?" Belle asked just as he was shutting the trunk. He smiled and turned around to face her. She had evidently either just woken up not long ago or not slept well at all. She was dressed for the day, but her eyes still looked tired and her hair was still a little mussed from sleep and she was still the very picture of perfection.

"Of course I did," he told her, and it was true. He had gone home in the couple of hours that Miss Swan and Regina had used to plot their next move in saving Henry. He had caught a brief amount of sleep before washing up and changing his suit-because he knew Belle would notice if he kept the same one on. In a few hours he would probably need to surrender to sleep but for now, he was buzzing with too much energy, adrenaline, and anticipation.

"What are you doing up so early?" Rumpelstiltskin asked before Belle could continue questioning him.

"I had a little trouble sleeping," she admitted. "I was going to make some breakfast when I noticed that you weren't even at home so I thought I'd come and find you. But now I think I'd much rather have someone else make breakfast for me. How would you like to go to Granny's?"

Rumpelstiltskin smiled and nodded at her. "That sounds like an excellent idea. But I was wondering if you might like to take a walk with me first."

Belle raised an eyebrow. "A walk?" she echoed.

"There's a place I wanted to show you," Rumpelstiltskin explained. "And it's lovely weather we're having this morning."

"Alright then," Belle agreed. "Lead the way." He led her out the side door, locking it behind him before they began to stroll toward the woods. Once Belle realized they would, in fact, be walking _in _the woods she instantly became a little hesitant.

"What if there are wolves or bears?" Belle asked him. Rumpelstiltskin smiled at her.

"I'll protect you," he promised her. Belle smiled back and grabbed his free hand. The brief look of shock that crossed over his features almost had Belle giggling, but she held it back. This man was so unused to someone wanting to be around him that it threw him off balance whenever she reached out for his company.

"I'll be holding you to that promise," she said somewhat warningly, but she smiled widely at him and he relaxed some as he led them further into the woods. It might have been sunny that morning, but it was still very cold and she was grateful for both her coat and for being so close to Robert. She still hadn't asked him out on a date yet-there never seemed to be a good opportunity-and she knew that Ruby would be dropping not-so-subtle hints at breakfast this morning.

She should try and ask him now, on their walk. Or maybe when they got to whatever place Robert was taking her to this morning. Or on their way back. Or maybe she should just let Ruby do what she had been threatening to do: asking Belle in front of Robert when she planned on _finally _asking him out. Honestly, with how nervous she was making herself over this, Ruby's tactlessness almost seemed like a decent option.

A sudden warm breeze blew right into Belle and…and suddenly…

She had grown up in a castle, the only daughter of Maurice. Her mother long dead.

Her dearest friends had been her books that let her have adventures while governesses dictated how she should act like a lady.

She put off the prospect of marriage for as long as she could until, in her late twenties, her father arranged a marriage to Sir Gaston out of fear she would be an old maid and would produce no heir to the throne.

The ogres came. Soldiers died. Men died. Women and children died. Their defenses began to fall. There was only one option and they all anxiously awaited his arrival.

Then he came and asked her to come away with him in exchange for the safety of her people. He frightened everyone else, even her father, but she was not afraid. She wanted to be brave. She wanted to decide something for herself.

She went with him.

Their relationship started out rocky. He was callous and feigned indifference, but he seemed lost and confused when she cried.

He unleashed his petty wrath on a thief, but she knew it was all just for show. There had to be good in him. There _had _to be.

She released the prisoner and he dragged her along as he tracked him down. He insisted that it was his nature to be wicked and dark and she nearly began to believe him.

That horrid sheriff tried to bargain for her like she was a piece of property that could be used and thrown away just to suit his whims. But he had refused and defended her honor in his own unique way.

He spared the thief's life and things were better between them. He gave her a library. He gave her a real bedroom.

He gave her friendship.

She found small clothing one day. Clothing for a child. It either belonged to him…or to a son he never spoke of.

All the mirrors remained covered. His one-_very strict -_rule was not to uncover any of them.

He saved her when she fell trying to open the curtains and let the curtains stay down. He seemed just as bewildered that she hadn't been repulsed by his touch as he was the day she first hugged him.

She began to daydream about him. About the two of them together. But whatever evil had taken root in him would cloud over these daydreams.

She dusted and cleaned the seemingly endless collection of things in the castle but she soon came to the realization that most of the things on display he hardly cared for. He kept gravitating toward her, staying nearby, but skirting around her if she got too close. He was lonely, she realized; lonely and desperate for company and companionship but too afraid of being hurt.

She asked him why he wanted her there and he deflected the answer with sarcasm. But she knew he was lonely. Any man would be lonely, she had told him. His joking mood disappeared at that and he insisted he wasn't a man. But he had to be, she was sure.

She asked about the clothing. There had been a son. And a wife. He had lost them both. He had been an ordinary man once. She wanted to know him if she were to know nobody else for the rest of her life. Would he allow it?

He called himself a monster again. She didn't believe it for one second.

Someone came to the door of the castle and he left her to see who it was. She was left alone with her thoughts, looking out the window, trying to ignore the strange fluttering in her stomach that would begin whenever he was around and she knew wouldn't go away any time soon.

He came back and gave her a rose. It was the first time he gave her a gift that wasn't disguised behind an excuse. A pillow to muffle her cries. A library for her to clean. New dresses that were easier to move around in so she could clean faster and not trip over the large skirts. A rose…just because he could.

He finally asked why she had chosen to come to the Dark Castle and she told him why. She wanted to be brave and she wanted to do something that was her choice. This had been her chance. Even if she hadn't gotten to see the world.

He asked about her betrothed and it was the first time she had given Gaston a thought in she didn't know how long. It wasn't surprising. He had been superficial and, as she explained to the man sitting at the table, she never really cared much for him.

She asked again about his son and he made her a deal instead. He would send her to town for straw. Alone. When she returned he would tell her more about his son.

Town? He trusted that she would come back?

No. He didn't. He was letting her go. Sending her away. He was expecting that he would _never _see her again.

She kept walking, forced herself not to look back, trying to ignore the gnawing feeling of guilt eating away inside of her and the increasing sadness and despair. In her books, this might be the point of the tale where two lovers were separated. But she didn't love him, did she? After all, something evil had taken root in him. Some curse. Could she really love him? Could _he _love _her_?

She stopped and turned around at the sound of approaching horses and for a moment, she thought it might be him coming after her. But her heart sank when she saw the carriage was all wrong and the man all in black that was driving it. More men in black on more black horses rode in front of and behind it.

She stepped off the road to let the carriage pass and she was surprised when it slowed to a stop in front of her. A woman all in black opened the door and decided to walk with her for awhile.

The woman was very perceptive; she guessed accurately that she was leaving a master. Master _and _lover, the woman guessed. She tried to leave the woman in black behind but the woman was persistent and Belle was soon voicing her own thoughts to her.

She _might _love him (she was not ready to admit to herself that she did, much less a stranger), she _could_…but something evil had taken root in him.

To the woman in black, it sounded like a curse. All curses could be broken and a kiss borne of true love would do the trick.

She was shocked. A _kiss? _Was it really so simple? But even if she did love him…that didn't mean he loved her back.

The woman in black laughed at her expression. She said she could never suggest that a young woman kiss a man who held her captive (although it had certainly sounded like that). If he loved her, the woman in black explained, he would have let her go. If he didn't love her, the kiss wouldn't even work.

But he _had _let her go. He had let her out of their deal and he _loved _to make deals. He wouldn't let her out of the deal just for anything unless…unless…

No kiss had happened, though. And if she kissed him, his curse might be broken, and he would be a man again. An ordinary man. True Love's Kiss could break any curse.

He was sitting at the spinning wheel when she returned and he feigned indifference to her absence but she knew him better. He was happy that she was back.

He was nervous around her again. He didn't quite know how to react or what to say when she plucked the straw from his hand and put it down so she could sit on the bench beside him.

She put a hand on his knee and he blanched at the contact but didn't shy away. Maybe he would warm up to this like he had warmed up to her hugs.

She urged him to tell her more about his son but he gave her the same vague answer as before. Hurt flashed in his eyes and she could tell that ever since then, he had led a lonely life with no one to love and no one to love him back.

He leaned in closer to her and asked her in a whisper why she came back. She admitted that she wasn't going to. And she really hadn't. She would have had to convince herself that this was the right decision every step of the way until she was back home and she would have thought about him every day for the rest of her life, but she had intended to not come back. And she knew she would have been miserable if she had stuck with that plan.

She changed her mind, she told him.

Slowly, they began to lean toward one another. He held back some, nervous, so she was the one to bridge most of the gap. Both their eyes slid shut.

Slowly, carefully, lightly, their lips brushed together.

It was all, for a moment, perfect.

They had kissed and when she pulled away she could see his face beginning to change. He seemed confused as to what was happening. She wanted to kiss him again, give a little extra boost to the weakening curse. Any curse could be broken.

He flew into a rage all at once and his skin returned to it scaly appearance. He stormed over to the covered mirror when she tried to explain and ripped off the sheet. He started yelling into it, accusing someone she couldn't see of turning her against him.

She asked who he was talking to. He whirled around on her in an instant. The Queen. He was talking to the Queen. Her friend the Queen. How had the Queen gotten to her, he wondered.

She had no idea what he was talking about. Was the woman on the road a Queen? Did they know each other?

He felt betrayed. He was sure that it was all a trick. That she could never care for him. He accused him of working for her. Or that she had concocted a grand scheme all on her own to be a hero and slaying the beast. He felt betrayed and she tried to soothe his fears.

It was working.

He told her to shut up.

It meant it was true love.

Shut the hell up, he told her.

In anguish, she asked why he wouldn't believe her.

He grabbed her and shook her and screamed that no one, no one, can ever, ever love him.

He threw her in the dungeon and she cried all by herself for hours while she heard him scream and rave and smashing glass and other things in the throes of his violent temper tantrum.

Hours later a tea set and some biscuits magically appeared in her cell. All the rest of the next day, the tea and biscuits would magically refill themselves. She hardly touched them.

Finally, he unlocked the door and strolled quietly in to her cell. He was deathly quiet. Still angry. She asked what he was going to do to her.

He pointed a finger at the door and told her, quietly, to go.

She echoed his command. Surely he couldn't really mean it.

His back was facing her so she couldn't see his face. He claimed not to want her anymore. But something in his voice betrayed him.

Hurt, she did begin to leave but she stopped just outside the cell. No. She would not be a coward like him. He _was _a coward and he refused to see it or admit it.

She stormed back into the cell and placed herself in front of him so he would have no choice but to look at her.

He had been freeing himself. He could have had happiness if he could just believe that someone could want him. But he couldn't take the chance.

He kept a carefully guarded poker face. He was hiding from her again. He claimed what she said was a lie.

She shook her head and stepped closer to him. She called him out on his cowardice and she saw something flash in his eyes. Regret? Anger? Acceptance? No matter how thick he made his skin, that wouldn't change.

He claimed he wasn't a coward and that his power simply meant more to him than she did.

That hurt. It really did. It felt like a blow to the chest. But she had gotten rather good at detecting his lies. He was pushing her away because she _did _mean more and he was just too scared.

His power _didn't _mean more to him than she did. He just didn't think she could love him. He had made his choice and he was going to regret it. Forever.

Her voice began to break and her eyes began to water but she couldn't break down in front of him. Not yet. She could wait to cry later and at least she would know she had been right.

All _he _would have is an empty heart and a chipped cup.

She finally left the room and found on the long dining table that he had left her cloak and a bag. Changes of clothes, plenty of money, and a few of her books were inside. Either he did really care or he just wanted her out of the castle faster. At the moment, she wanted to get away, too.

After a month, she had had enough. She had and adventure and she _missed _him. Missed him so bad it hurt. Now that she had helped someone get one step closer to finding their true love, she wanted to go back to hers. Maybe it would go worse than last time and she hoped that he had missed her just as much.

She didn't get far. The Queen found her and locked her away.

Every day she marked how long she had been locked away with another tally mark on the wall. She was sure that he would find her. He would find out about what the Queen had done. She was a valued chess piece, according to the Queen. Sooner or later, she'd _have _to be played and she had hope that her True Love would come out on top.

She had been in her cell for nearly five months when the Queen came strolling into the cell.

"Still hopeful that he'll come to rescue you?" she asked sarcastically as she took in the tally marks.

"You can't keep us apart forever," Belle reminded her. "We are each other's True Love and you can't keep that apart. He'll look for me. He'll find me. And despite everything you've done, I'll do my best to convince him _not _to kill you."

The Queen smirked. "Yes, I imagine that by now he's searching for you. Making deals, asking the right people the right questions and sooner or later the trail will end here and there will be an epic battle over one little former princess." The Queen laughed. "Unless of course, someone told him the tragic story of your demise. About how your father shunned you for being a monster's whore and locked you away in a tower so that clerics could come in and try to cleanse your soul with scourges and flaying. Eventually it all became too much for you and you threw yourself off the tower." She laughed again at the expression on Belle's face. "Your True Love believes you're dead. And he knows no magic can bring back the dead so you can give up hope of your rescue."

Belle swallowed thickly. "You're lying," she said, voice wavering.

The Queen smirked. "That's _just _what he said. He didn't want to believe me. But believe me, he did. You want to see for yourself?" In a wave of magic, the Queen produced a mirror. Waving her hand over it, the image in the mirror changed from herself, to the Great Hall of the Dark Castle.

He was huddled in a ball on the floor. Silent sobs were racking his body as he clutched a cup to his chest.

A teacup.

A _chipped _teacup.

"No!" Belle gasped. "No! I'm alive! You can't believe her! I'm alive!"

"He can't hear you dear," the Queen said, laughing. "I made sure of that. But don't fret my dear. I'm going to take all of your pain away. I have a back-up plan if that wretched Snow White slips from my grasp. There will be a powerful curse cast over all the land and we'll be sent to a new land. A land where nobody will remember who they are. If I cast this curse, you won't even remember him and he won't remember you."

And every day since then was waiting, dreading the day that the curse would be cast and she wouldn't remember anymore.

And now she did remember.

Her hand had slipped from his grasp as the memories had hit her all at once and he was a few paces ahead of her now. He looked just like an ordinary man in this world, but she knew that it was him.

"Wait," she called out.

"No, no, we're very close," he assured her.

She was done waiting. She had done decades of waiting. Waiting for _this _moment. And she wouldn't wait a second longer.

"Rumpelstiltskin," she called out. "Wait." He froze in place. She walked over to him and he very slowly turned around to face her.

"I-I remember," she said. His expression reminded her of how he looked at her when he had offered her a place to stay at Doctor Hopper's office. Hopeful, but still very, very scared. She knew everything now. She knew he was remembering how he had pushed her away because he was scared and couldn't believe she could love him. Now he was expecting to be shunned just as he was expecting her to shun him all those weeks ago when he offered her a home.

But of course, that wasn't about to happen.

"I love you!" Belle said, voice cracking. She had been waiting to tell him that for decades now and not another second should be wasted waiting to tell him that.

Rumpelstiltskin gave a watery smile, as if he was as close to breaking down into tears as she was-and he probably was-and he immediately crushed her to him. She wrapped both arms around his neck and hugged him just as tightly back, worried that this would all just be a dream again and she would wake up.

"Yes," Rumple breathed. "Yes. And I love you, too." Too soon, he pulled away from her, but he kept one hand cupping her face. "But hey…there'll be time for that. There'll be time for everything," he promised. "But first, there's something I _must _do."

Belle nodded and grabbed his hand again so they could continue walking together. There was so much she wanted to say to him and by the way he kept glancing over at her-as if to make sure she was really there and really remembered-she knew there was plenty he wanted to ask her as well.

They came to the top of the sloping path and Belle saw a well. This must be where he had been leading her to.

"What is this?" she asked when Rumpelstiltskin stopped walking.

"This is a very special place, Belle," he told her. "The waters that run below are said to have the power to return that which one has lost." He let go of her hand to dig in his pocket as he limped up to the well. Belle followed him and saw that he had pulled out a glass bottle filled with a sparkling purple liquid. He uncapped it and then dropped the bottle into the well below. Immediately a strong gust of wind started blowing Belle's hair around and plumes of purple smoke came pouring out of the well. Rumpelstiltskin grabbed Belle by the arm and pulled her back from the well. He slid the same arm around her middle and pulled her close as the purple smoke spilled out all around them.

"I-I don't understand," Belle said.

"We're in a land without magic, Belle," Rumpelstiltskin explained. "And I'm bringing it. Magic is coming."

She remembered Henry's story and had to ask "To find your son?" He looked at her, startled that she would know that. "Henry told me our story," she reminded him. "I know why that's why you were…that's why you might need it here," Belle explained. She almost slipped up and said that's why he had been so livid when she kissed him back in the Enchanted Forest. But Rumpelstiltskin caught her near mistake and realized what she was going to say. His face fell and he looked absolutely devastated.

"Hey," she said quietly, holding his face in her hands. "It's alright. I forgave you a long time ago. I just didn't get to say it until now." She slipped her arms around him and hugged him again and he hugged her just as tightly back. "Of course, you _could _have explained back then."

Rumpelstiltskin cleared his throat. "I wasn't thinking rationally," he admitted.

"I could tell," Belle replied dryly and despite himself, Rumpelstiltskin laughed.

"My darling Belle," he said, pulling back from her. The purple smoke was beginning to dissipate. "You have to tell me what happened to you. I thought you were-" He broke off, not wanting to say the word. Dead. He thought she had been dead.

"I was abducted," Belle explained.

"Regina," Rumple nearly growled.

Belle nodded. "She locked me away until her curse and I was in the asylum up until the fire."

"For twenty-eight years."

Belle nodded sadly. All that time could have been spent with the two of them together and now that time was gone.

Rumpelstiltskin narrowed his eyes. "Well, having magic back might be handy when I deal with Regina for this."

Now it was Belle's turn to narrow her eyes at him. "I told you only a few days ago that I didn't _want _you to go after Regina."

"But that was before you knew who you really were!" Rumple protested. "Now that you have all your memories back-"

"The situation hasn't changed," Belle interrupted. "I might not have remembered everything then but I meant what I said. I don't want you going after her for revenge. That won't make you happy and I will be _very _unhappy if you go against my wishes and go after her," Belle said warningly. The sudden sheepish look on his face meant that he was definitely taking her warning into account.

"Promise me you won't go after her," Belle demanded. "Promise me you won't give into your hate. Promise me…and we can be together."

He gave her a watery smile. "Alright," he agreed nodding. "Alright, I promise." Tentatively he reached a hand out and stroked her face. "Sweetheart," he said so quietly she almost didn't hear it. She almost started crying at the sincerity of that little term of endearment. He really meant it. This could really work.

"You look like an ordinary man here," she observed. "Is this what you used to look like?"

"More or less," he whispered. He was a lot closer than he had been a moment ago.

"In, uh, in our old land…we couldn't…"

"We can here," Rumpelstiltskin assured her, knowing what she was going to say. Kissing. They kissed once and he nearly lost his powers, his magic, his way to find his son again. But if things were different here…

"Are you sure?" Belle had to ask. In answer he bent down slightly and crushed his lips to hers, slipping an arm around her shoulders. Belle kissed him back eagerly, wrapping her own arms around his shoulders. There first kiss back in the Enchanted Forest had been perfect (apart from the temper tantrum that soon followed) gentle, soft, and sweet. This kiss was different. His lips still felt the same and he was still quite gentle with her, but there was a lot more pent up emotion behind the kiss. She had been waiting for twenty-eight years and he had, until very recently, thought her to be dead.

It was just as perfect as the first.

After a minute they slowly broke apart and Rumpelstiltskin looked at her, gauging her reaction, as if he was afraid she was going to run away. Instead, she smiled at him and buried her head in his shoulder, breathing in his scent. She had missed it. She had missed him and everything about him.

It had been a long wait to see Rumpelstiltskin again and she wasn't about to part from him any time soon. Grinning, she lifted her head up and kissed him again. The sensation of his tongue trying brushing against her lips was a new one but she parted her mouth and allowed him access, gripping his jacket tighter at the sensation. When his tongue retreated, she slipped hers into his open mouth, making Rumple groan and his knees buckle slightly. She brought her tongue back into her mouth almost immediately. He had a bad leg now and she didn't want to injure him (even if he could heal himself immediately now). She pulled back from him and Rumple groaned again at the loss of contact.

"Come on," Belle urged, grabbing his hand and tugging him along back down the path. "Let's go back home."

"What about breakfast?" Rumpelstiltskin asked.

"I think that Ruby and Granny might be a little too preoccupied with their own restored memories," Belle pointed out. "Besides, breakfast can wait. This is a time for…_celebration_." Belle tried to use the same suggestive tone of voice Ruby had been using lately whenever she was giving advice on how to get Mr. Gold-or rather, Rumpelstiltskin-into bed. He caught on to her meaning and his eyes went wide as saucers.

"We cant-" he began to protest.

"We have been separated for _decades_," Belle interrupted. "Besides, the rules are different here from the Enchanted Forest."

His resolve was weakening and his lips were pressed together in a very thin line. "Belle…" he tried to say warningly, but it came out as more of a whine.

"Look me in the eye and tell me-_truthfully_-that you really think we shouldn't and that we need to wait. We _have _gone about thirty years apart and I _have _been sleeping just down the hall from you for the past few weeks. I'm sure it can wait a little while longer." She gave him a look. "That is…if _you _think you can wait."

Rumpelstiltskin really tried to hold onto his resolve but only lasted a few more moments before giving up, sighing in a huff. "If that's what you want, dearie," he said, sounding much more pleased and eager than annoyed. Belle tried not to laugh as he began limping much faster than he had before, keeping a strong grip on her hand.

"You'll thank me later," she said teasingly. Butterflies filled her stomach and her heart was threatening to burst through her chest it was pounding so hard. Yes, this was a new and a little bit of a scary step, but it would be a new adventure. Something she'd only want to share with Rumpelstiltskin. Not able to help herself she leaned in and whispered in his ear "Especially when you see the nightgown I bought the other week."

* * *

**Sorry to disappoint, but, there won't be a sex scene next chapter. I'm terrible at writing it and I'm going to keep this at a T rating. Next chapter will be the last chapter. And then my full attention will be on my new Rumbelle story _Shop Around the Corner. _**

**Thanks for reading.**


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